Tom Sullivan's Blog

Sullivan's Spring Training 2011

2011-03-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Visit facebook page for pics, vids, info:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sullivan-Training-Systems/157964640891450

This post is intended to give some details to those interested in training at Sullivan's during the Spring 2011 session. If you have trained with us before, seen the results, enjoyed yourselves, and think friends, teammates or enemies could benefit please post on facebook, shout from the mountain top, email, twitter, text, etc. Our goal is to get 40 athletes into the gym this spring training with us.

Start Date:

Early start: Monday, March 14th, 2011 (free week of training)
Official start: Monday, March 21st, 2011

End Date: May 27, 2011

11 weeks of training. 75 minute sessions. after school availability everyday from 3-8pm, plus weekend morning sessions.

What is it?

Typical session will follow a basic outline of 75 minutes addressing the following:

Foam rolling, self massage technique
Active or static stretch
Dynamic Movement, athletic prep
Core/Torso training
Power/explosive work
Strength work
Conditioning/endurance work

Who is it for?

Hockey Players fresh off from a loooong winter of competition.
In Season Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Soccer for 1-2 days of strength maintenance.
Athletes who plan to train with us this summer, to develop their strength and technique.
Anyone looking to get stronger, faster, healthier, leaner.

Options:

2 x per week: $549.00 total ( or 3 payments of 183.00)
3 x per week: $749.00 total ( or 3 payments of 250.00)

Gym location:

65 Mathewson Drive, Unit B
Weymouth, Ma 02189

1 mile from Weymouth High School, easy access from Routes 3, 53, and 18.

High School Hockey Playoffs

2011-02-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, Mass High School Hockey Playoffs. Last year, on the coaching staff for North Quincy boys team, we sat out because we weren't good enough to be there. Not the case this year. They boys took care of business and we will be playing Franklin at some point this week in the D2 tourney.

If you are cruising around the rinks checking out the games keep your eye out for some of Sullivan Training's athletes. Hingham, Weymouth, Braintree, BC High, Fontbonne, North Quincy, Dexter, Xaverian, CM, WHP, Marshvegas.....this list goes on.

I will keep you updated on how it goes.

The Secret to Changing Your Body.

2011-02-15T07:20:00.001-08:00

One of the most common questions that people ask me is, "How can I lose x amount of weight, in y amount of time?"

The answer to this question may look simple on paper but much less easy in practice. Do me a favor, starting today and for the next 7 days, build yourself a table that is 7 columns wide by 5 rows deep. The 7 columns represent the days of the week and the 5 rows should be labeled as follows: "Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner." Write down everything that you eat and drink for 7 days. Be honest. I have had clients return me sheets that include lucky charms for breakfast, and 8 captain and cokes with dinner. Once you have 7 days worth of your current nutrition habits, look for patterns. It doesn't take a nutritionist to see where you can make changes. Try changing one habit or pattern at a time. If you always have a snack before bed or after dinner, try cutting that snack out.

Allow yourself to have 3-4 slip ups per week. The key is getting back on track right away.

Some thoughts on progress/plans.

2011-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Based on your current workout regimen, do you know what you are going to do next week? Are you going to do the same exact workouts that you do this week? Are you going to change exercises? Sets and reps? Rest periods? Length of sessions? And on and on....

What I am trying to get at here is that you need to have some type of plan, however basic it may be. Repeating the same exact workouts from week to week will leave you mentally burnt out, and hating your trips to the gym.

My recommendation: Try looking at your workouts on a monthly basis. Write down all of your workout sessions in a given week. Then, plan to change up the volume (total work). For all of your lifts in week 1, do 4 sets of 8 reps. Week 2 do 5 sets of 5. Week 3 do 4 sets of 8 again. On Week 4 give yourself a break. Cut your workouts in half. Do 2 sets of 8, skip cardio and head home. I am giving you permission. Week 5 is a hard week again. See the pattern? This type of approach may be the key to workout longevity and the real reason some type of people go hard for a month and then take 4 months off. Consistency is crucial to maintaining your fitness and bodyweight levels so you aren't all over the place.

Give it a try.

Go get em,

TS

Some Friday Advice for Yas.

2011-02-04T08:41:00.000-08:00

Some reading information for you guys...if you work in the fitness industry or are well read, these will seem really obvious. For my friends who work regular 9-5 jobs (probably 7a-6p), this stuff may help you steer clear of some previously shitty advice.

1. When you do abs, don't do sit ups and crunches. As new research comes out, the abs are designed to prevent movement of the spine, not create it. This means you want to be doing things like planks, bridges, roll outs, etc. Not only will you be improving your body's performance, but it has also been shown that these exercises activate more muscle fibers, aka are better suited for building your washboard.

2. Don't take a routine out of a magazine and haphazardly follow it. Think about things like: Do I know how to do this exercise? Do I know what they even mean? Do I need 10 sets for just arms? Does my gym have this equipment? Is this move too advanced or easy for me? I would rather see you grab some tid bits from here and slowly add them to your repertoire than to dive into some other stuff. Take the time to learn how to do things correctly.

3. Don't do "straight sets" any more. Example: a straight set would be to see 3 x 10 on lat pull down and do it like this, Do 1 set rest 2 minutes, Do another set and so on. Pair that exercise with a different type of movement, cut down your rest and get your breathing going a bit. You will crank up your ability to burn calories during resistance training.

4. Do more resistance training than "cardio". You burn more calories doing total body lifts than treadmill or elliptical work. Plus it isn't as boring, will help you shed fat, and build muscle (harden up those soft areas).

5. The best exercise for your six pack is "fork put downs".

TS

Recipe Help!

2011-02-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

Based on a comment from the post with the grocery list, I wanted to share some info. The comment was basically, "Great! I bought all of this stuff, now what do I do with it?"

While Cait and I are definitely broadening our cooking horizons, we are by no means chefs. We always use recipes from other people. When cooking meals that will support your health and fitness goals, a great resource is Brian St. Pierre's blog, here: http://brianstpierretraining.com/index.php/category/recipes/. It would be irresponsible of me not to point you on to someone who has got 100 times more/better knowledge around food and nutrition than myself, and I really like Brian's stuff.

TSull

Friday "Cardio"

2011-01-28T09:58:00.001-08:00

I know that I still have a lot of friends out there who are doing workouts from the 80s and 90s. I still have numerous people telling me, "Hey Sull, I did 90 minutes of cardio today! Aren't you proud?" To me, that is a shitty time to preach about, "well, you could have done x, y, or z." Getting in to the gym and moving around for 90 minutes is a nice accomplishment. I will however take this forum to tell you that I think you can be more productive. In stead of getting in 2 - 3 90 minute sessions during the week, I would much rather see you guys doing 25 minute sessions throughout 4-5 days. I think more frequency and being consistent will lead you to much better results. Your body will look better, feel better, and you will have more time left over for the stuff that really matters.

Here are 3 "cardio" workouts that won't take a lot of time or thought:

Set up your treadmill, do your regular warmup, and slowly start to increase your speed until you are going faster than your typical jog. Not a sprint, but something called a tempo pace (between jog and sprint). Leave the treadmill running, step off, grab a quick blast of water and gather your thoughts.

I want you to CAREFULLY get on the moving tread and do your thing for 15 seconds. CAREFULLY step off and do a set of pushups. If you can easily do 10 pushups do 10. For most girls 3-5 nose to the ground pushups will be very challenging and plenty. Do your pushups, stand up, and take a peak at the clock REST until the next even minute starts. Start your 15 second tempo on the minute, step off, do your pushups, and rest. Repeat for 6 sets. Finish with some type of basic plank variation for abs and hit the showers.

You could do this workout with any bodyweight exercise like pushups, inverted rows, chin ups, or squats. Be careful with exercise selection so you aren't crushed when you get back to your run.

Let this type of workout take the place of a 90 minute cardio session. Trust me, it is better for you and way less boring.

Things to fill your cupboard and fridge with

2011-01-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest keys to getting and staying lean is to fill your house with the right stuff. If you have ice cream in the freezer and chips ahoy in the lazy susan, chances are, you will dust those until they are gone. If your house is filled with the stuff below, you will be fueling your body with good stuff.

chicken
sweet potato
extra virgin olive oil
onions
apples
turkey
brown rice
almonds
peppers
oranges
tuna
old-fashinoed oats
walnuts
broccoli
bananas
wild salmon
beans
pecans
spinach
blueberries
shrimp
natural peanut butter
cauliflower
strawberries
steak
whole wheat bread or flourless bread
pesto
carrots
raspberries
pork
whole wheat pasta
avocado
asparagus
pineapple
omega-3 eggs
whole wheat wraps
guacamole
cucumber
plums
Greek yogurt
quinoa
milled flax seeds
tomatoes
kiwi
whey protein
buckwheat
pastured butter
celery
peach

Approved Exercise List

2011-01-24T11:17:00.001-08:00

Spend most of your time with the following list of exercises. It is by no means comprehensive, and there are 1000s of variations of each, but this should point you in the right direction. Plug these into your workout skeleton from Monday's post below.

Push:

pushup, bench press, dumbell bench press, standing dumbell overhead press

Pull:

dumbell row, inverted row, pull up, chin up, assisted pull or chin ups, weighted pull ups or chin ups, chest supported row machine, cable row, standing cable row, rope climb

Legs:

split squat, goblet squat, glute bridge, hip thrust, reverse lunge, front squat

Abs/Torso:

plank, side plank, back bridge, suitcase carry/hold, ab wheel or dolly, and any variations

Cardio:

Treadmill, elliptical, stairs, jump rope, burpees, running, biking, swimming, bodyweight exercises performed as a circuit.

January Workout Advice

2011-01-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Greetings in 2011! After spending some time with family and friends over the holidays, the recurring question that I seem to always get is, "what should I be doing in the gym to lose weight/build muscle/look better?" It comes in various forms but almost always boils down to the same issue. People just want to look better. Your average gym goer doesn't care about much else, and my friends are no different.

For most people, going to the gym shouldn't be a complicated thing. To me, each time you set foot in there you should follow the same skeleton or format with different components plugged in. Here is a simple, effective skeleton for your workouts:

1. Foam Roll (8 minutes): self massage technique that will help you feel much better, google it.

2. Do 5 stretches (30 seconds per stretch x 2 sides x 5 stretches, 5 minutes): a hamstring stretch, a quad/hip flexor stretch, a calf stretch, a chest stretch, and a lat stretch. Any will do, I can give you some ideas if you don't get it.

3. Train Abs first: when I say abs I mean your whole torso. Front, back, side, side. Think plank variation, not situps.

4. Use weights: Push something, Pull something, Do something for legs.

5. Finish with some moderate, quick cardio. Try 30 seconds of work with 60 seconds of rest for 5 sets as a starting point. You could use a cardio machine, do some calisthenics, or skip rope for this part. I will give you some more ideas in the future. Go moderate to hard for 30 seconds, rest for 1 minute and repeat for 5 rounds.

You should be able to finish everything in 60-70 minutes.

For folks who have demanding jobs and schedules, try getting to the gym on Saturday and Sunday with 1 or 2 weeknights in there. The weekend workouts help to battle against any damage you are doing in the bar room or the food court.

Email any questions:

tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

The Importance Of In Season Training

2010-12-07T07:53:00.001-08:00

So you spent all summer and fall training hard and preparing your body for the grueling winter hockey season. You added muscle, increased your strength, speed, and conditioning levels. You pushed, pulled, and forced your body to adapt to the new levels of demand you were placing on it.

What do you think happens when you stop lifting, stretching, rolling, and performing your mobility work? Do you think it magically maintains itself all season?

The answer is no. College players and Pro Players train throughout the entire season, shouldn't you be mimicking the things that they do? You need to do some type of maintenance work on your body to keep everything functioning at the highest level so you can succeed on the ice. That is why I think in-season Sunday Sessions are so valuable.

We will be doing a big group session from 11am-12:15pm every Sunday to help you keep your bodies running at top speed. Session will begin this Sunday, December 12, 2010, so shoot me an email, text, or call to reserve a spot in the group. Cost will be $299 for the winter. Payment plans as always are acceptable.

tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

781 831 3901

Adult Training: Winter Bootcamp

2010-10-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

This Winter 2010, Sullivan's in Weymouth is going to be shifting gears a bit. We are in search of some new clients for our night time or early morning classes. Details are below. If you can get your Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, older sibling or neighbor to join with us, there will be a referral gift in it for you. Either a T-shirt or gift certificate, or training discount, whichever you choose. Please help spread the word and send this to as many people as you know!

Adult Training Camp (12 weeks)

Start Date: Monday November 8, 2010
End Date: February 4th, 2010

Session length: 1 hour

Available times: 6:30am, 7:00pm Mon-Thurs, and Saturday mornings

Cost: 2 days per week: $495 (or 3 pmts of 165.00), 3 days per week $595 (or 3 pmts of 198.00)

Some Additional Info:

Everyone's workouts' will be completely tailored to your physical abilities. I will never ask you to perform a workout or exercise that is beyond your current fitness level.

You will have fun and you can expect to lose 15 lbs!

Please email me at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com with any questions or to sign up.

Here is video of a couple of my longest tenured training clients:

Sign Ups for Hockey Camp

2010-10-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

Listen, If you want to prepare for hockey tryouts this year, you are an idiot if you don't do this camp.

Details can be found in the blog post below.

If you want to sign up, you must send an email or facebook message to Tom Sullivan with the following information to reserve your spot. Facebook Tom Sullivan or send an email to tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

Name:

School:

Year:

If you send an email to reserve your spot before Midnight on Tuesday October 26th, you will receive a discount of $25, making your price $200 bucks for two weeks of training.

Introducing Sullivan Training Systems Preseason Camp!

2010-10-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

On November 8th, 2010, I will be embarking on a new program offering with my good friend and high school hockey coach, Matt Gibbons. We will be offering a camp for high school hockey players, that will be better than anything out there. I don't like to bash anyone else's programs, I just know that there will be nothing like this. Here is a play by play of how the camp will go:

To Sign up: email tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com to reserve a spot

Monday, November 8th - Shea Rink Quincy
This will be our first ON ICE session of camp. We will have check ins, distribute jerseys and go over the game plan of what we are looking to accomplish for camp. We will hit the ice from 4-5pm at Shea. This on ice stuff will be completely different than what you are used to. We will not do suicides or wind sprints or any other useless conditioning exercise. Your conditioning will come from small area games, battling, and the up tempo pace of the skate, no standing around.

Tuesday, November 9th - Sullivan Training Systems, Weymouth, Ma
This will be our first OFF ICE session of camp. We are going to split the off ice sessions into two groups. One group will train from 6-7pm, group 2 will train from 7-8pm. This training will be strength, speed, acceleration, and endurance based. Find a kid who has trained at STS before and they will tell you that it is the best on the south shore. We will push sleds, climb ropes, throw medicine balls, and build leg strength.

Wednesday, November 10th - Sullivan Training Systems, Weymouth, Ma
OFF ICE session 2. New exercises, challenges, and obstacles to overcome. Training times will be the same.

Thursday, November 11th - Shea Rink Quincy, Ma
ON ICE session 2. More small area games, quick decision making, competing, battling, and challenges. 4pm-5pm.

Friday, November 12th - Sullivan Training Systems - Weymouth, Ma
Third OFF ICE SESSION, week 1 completion. Group 1 from 5-6pm, Group 2 from 6-7pm.

This will be how the first week will happen, week 2 will be very similar.

Cost for the program will be $225 per player.

Wrapping up

This camp will feature 5 days of training, 2 days off, followed by 5 more days of training. You will get 10 sessions in 2 weeks, 6 hours of off ice strength and conditioning, 4 hours of on ice instruction and development.

As coaches our goal for this camp is to leave you prepared to dominate at tryouts at your respective school. We are expecting 40-50 kids and you will have an opportunity to compete against kids from other schools and leagues. Don't trust anyone else with your winter season preparation.

The Washed Up Athlete Program - Part 1

2010-05-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

As I sit here and try to write about topics that will appeal to the audience that tunes in here, I keep coming back to the demographic of the typical reader. You know, the people who I run into on the street who say they loved the last blog or the people who chime in from the comments section or through facebook messages, etc. The typical reader and most of my good friends are the following type of people:

24-30 years old
former collegiate athlete, with a few pros thrown in there
currently sitting in an office for 8-10 hours per day
living in Boston
time being the biggest hurdle to getting the physique they want
pretty active with a decent knowledge of exercise technique from playing days
looking for a simple way to get more out of workouts

Let's start with one of the biggest problems I see in this population. The warm up. Or the lack of warm up. And for the record, doing a few trunk twists, a couple arm circles, and finishing with a set of bouncing hamstring rippers is not a warmup. Here is the type of warmup you need:

1. Foam roll or some soft tissue work - 5 mins
2. Static Stretch - 5 mins
3. A couple of mobility and dynamic drills - 3 mins

(this week I will film a good, quick workout for you at the gym, that can be done in a commercial gym).

Notice there is no, "hop on a bike, or go for a quick jog." These do not warm you up for anything except jogging or pedalling slowly on a bike. I want you to start rethinking your warmup. Stay tuned for the warm up video. Later in the week I will address abs or core training, and finally with a couple of sample workouts.

Boys & Girls Summer Middle, High School, and College Athletes

2010-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Summer 2010 is right around the corner. This year at the STS Summer Program, we are expecting between 55-75 athletes. We will be limiting group size to 9 athletes. There will be a number of start times which you can find below. Each session will last 90 minutes. The program will begin on June 21st and run until August 26th. That is 10 weeks of focused effort towards making you a better athlete. If you want to add 10-20 pounds of muscle to your frame while getting faster, more powerful, and leaner, this is the only place to do it. If you are a female athlete the program will be a little different. You will not add mass, but get quicker, more flexible and skinnier. Send me an email at tssullivanjr@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Start times:

Morning:
6am, 6:30, 7:15, 8, 8:45, 9:30, 10:15

Afternoon:
3pm, 3:45pm

PS. College program starts Mid May (whenever you get home) and high school athletes who get out of school earlier than the 21st can start sooner.

STS College Bound Athletes.

2010-04-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

Johnny McInnis formerly of Quincy Youth Hockey fame has played the past two seasons for the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. This year in 58 games played, Johnny tallied a ridiculous 42 goals, 31 assists, and 73 points. He was selected as team MVP for the season. Johnny spent last off season with us and was able to put on substantial size, strength, and speed which can be credited to the dedication he put in at the gym all summer. Plus when you have a high powered scorer who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, that's a guy you want on your team (Johnny is in the white jersey below). John is off to Minnesota State next year to play ice hockey. Congrats buddy, I look forward to helping you take your game to the next level this off season.

Another STS College bound kid is Brian Sullivan of BC High. Brian will be playing college football for Massachusetts Maritime Academy (along with Rich Aylward) next season. Brian has been training with me since I opened STS and undoubtedly is the most dedicated athlete I have had. He continues to get bigger, faster, and stronger, and I have no doubt he will be rushing for piles of yardage next year. Good luck next year buddy! Bri is pictured above rushing for one of his many touchdowns.

The Other Side of STS.

2010-04-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Today's post will be all about two of my rock star women clients, Shelley Devane and Kristin Rosano. I have never written about these two on the blog, and they are long overdue for some praise.

Some brief history: Shelley and Kristin began training at STS last summer with Mike. They really enjoyed working with him during his summer bootcamps. When fall hit and it was time for Mike to return to pursue his Marine Corps career, I was worried that the girls would stop coming to workout (most of Mike's clients stopped training with us when he left) since now they would be working with me. I was wrong and they have been training ever since. My biggest mistake in working with the girls is that we have no real benchmarks as far as weight, circumference measurements or before and after photos. The only proof of results is that they continue to be very consistent with their training, they look terrific, and seem to really enjoy working with me. Below is a video of one of their recent training sessions. My biggest regret is that I do not have 15 more clients like the girls, which I hope will change in the near future. Mondays and Thursdays at 6 are my favorite times during the week because I get to spend 60 minutes with these two.

If you are interested in training with me and getting these type of results and doing totally different, fun workouts, contact me at tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Nutrition for Collegiate Student Athletes...and you!

2010-04-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

Recently I was hired by the Babson College Hockey program to run 10 strength sessions this spring. Today will be my 3rd session with the team. I wrote up a 7 page manual of a bunch of thoughts on how to make the most of their training for ice hockey. I will publish bits and pieces on the blog because the advice is applicable for people who get to the gym 3-4 times per week.

This is the nutrition section that I wrote and the last piece features how to eat at the dining hall. This advice is also applicable for the lay person looking to eat healthier and build a more impressive physique. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Nutrition

Let’s shift gears a little bit and talk about another huge part of the equation. Nutrition. Nutrition may be as important as training, seriously. Here we go with another list to keep things simple.

1. Drink 1 gallon of water everyday. Water should be your beverage of choice. The occasional Diet Pepsi or coffee is fine. Green Tea is excellent for you, and good old, plain, unflavored water is best.

2. Gatorade, Fruit Juice, High octane soda, Vitamin Water, and the rest of them are rubbish and have no place in a healthy diet except if you enjoy them during competition.

3. Post workout nutrition is critical. You should be having a serving of whey protein immediately post workout with a full, healthy meal within 25 minutes.

4. While we are on the topic of supplements, there are only a few that I recommend. I recommend using 5 grams of creatine pre workout, and another 5 grams post workout. Basic creatine monohydrate is all you need. You don’t need anything named after a snake, crazy goblins, or anything with XXX on the label. The only other stuff I think you need is fish oil. Go to CVS and buy yourself a big bottle of fish oil caps and take 3 with breakfast and 3 with lunch. Personally I like a little caffeine pre-workout in the form of iced coffee with no cream or sugar but this is personal preference only. Sometimes a little boost can go a long way during your tougher sets.

5. When you go home for the summer, your first responsibility is to find a farmer’s market, a fruit stand, or a place to get good quality produce (not stop and shop). Eating produce that is locally grown, seasonal, and free of genetic modification is the healthiest thing you can do for your body. Most times these places will also have nice things like locally laid eggs and flowers for your girlfriend.

6. For your bread products, the only brand I can recommend is Ezekial Bread. It is made from sprouted grains and is full of proteins. White bread, and bread with tons of preservatives and chemicals wreaks havoc on your insides. Recent research has shown that grains in fact are not good for your health. Is whole wheat bread and fruit from stop and shop going to kill you? No, and if this is your only option, that’s fine, I want to present you with what is optimal, whenever possible. Whenever you can, you want fresh stuff without preservatives.

7. You must eat 5-6 times per day (at least 4). Shakes, healthy snacks, and meals count as feedings. If you are trying to gain weight, eat 8 times a day, with something before bed.

8. Keep your shitty eating habits for 3 meals per week. If you want to have a blowout every Sunday where breakfast is pancakes, lunch is a bacon cheeseburger, and dinner is Chinese food, that is fine, or you can spread it out over the week. This planned cheating helps satisfy any cravings you may have. You should try to eat to support your goals 90 percent of the time.

9. Start preparing your own food. This is the healthiest option and a great habit to develop.

10. With all of this in mind, I realize your options and habits will be different when you are on campus. Gordy Trim doesn’t always provide what seem like good options. So here would be my recommendations for eating at Trim.
a. Get out of bed and get to breakfast everyday. If you aren’t willing to do this, nothing else matters. It’s that important. This is an opportunity to get your body jump started with 500-800 quality calories. Scrambled eggs, bacon, two pieces of fruit. NOT cereal, waffles, and bagels.
b. Stay away from pizza and pasta. These are poor choices from Trim. Twice a week max you can have a couple of slices of pizza. Pasta is almost void of nutritional value.
c. Hammer the salad bar. Try to have 2 salads everyday (one with lunch, one with dinner). Use your head. Lettuce soaked in ranch isn’t a good choice. Try different things, the more colors the better.
d. Crush water. Not juice, not soda, not milk. Water.
e. Bring a shake or a bar to class with a handful of nuts or stolen trim fruit if you have 3 classes in a row. Don’t do more than 2.5 hours without eating.

Here is a weekly shopping list for you (or Mom).

Frozen Berries (biggest bag you can find)
Fresh Apples
Box of Clementines
Pile of bananas
Bell Peppers
Onion
Green Leafy stuff that you like (broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce)
Bag of sliced almonds
Bag of shelled almonds
All natural peanut butter or almond butter (pricey but way better for you)
2 frozen loaves of Ezekial Bread (found in freezer section)
Strawberry Preserves (all natural if possible)
Lean Ground beef for burger patties
Any type of steak (flank or skirt steak is nice and lean)
Boneless chicken breast
Any kind of fresh seafood (must be used that day)
Lean cuts of bacon
2, 18 packs of omega 3 eggs
Chobani Greek Yogurt with fruit on bottom (strawberry, blueberry, and strawberry banana)

TSull has been MIA.

2010-03-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

I apologize to anyone following along. I haven't wrote a blog in weeks. I haven't forgotten about the blog, I just really haven't been struck with any topics worthy of writing. I really don't have a set system for the blog, when something strikes me as a potential topic, I write about it. I think I need to start to plan better so I can write more frequently. So today I will just rattle some things off that are on my mind:

1. "You can't out train a shitty diet." I forget where I heard this originally but a lot of fitness pros throw around a variation of this. Recently I have started dialing the diet in because we are fast approaching shirts off season, and with some focus, fat will fall off you. Here are some tweaks I have made.

a. Less booze. I have cut back the frequency of how much I drink and it has made a huge difference. I still have one night where I let the wheels rattle off the bus because I enjoy the hell out of it.

b. Except for Sundays, almost zero grains and starches

Just these two have made a huge difference.

2. A book I read by Nate Green called "Built for Show" may have nailed it. A seasonal approach to training seems to really be paying off for me. I didn't follow Nate's program but I spent the winter with a laser focus on increasing my lifts and really pounding the weights. I cut way back on "cardio" and plyos and watched my weight go up to about 210. As the weather warms up I have added back some conditioning at the end of a lift along with a couple of days per week where I perform fast paced, intense circuits. As my abs start to resurface, I find that I am about 205 lbs and lean. At 200 pounds I think I can get my bodyfat to where I usually am at about 190 or so pounds.

3. As the weather gets nicer, attendance has been up at "Saturday Sweat". Here is some footage from last week's session. If you have been thinking about coming down, here you go:

4. I have been eating "Ezekial Bread" with breakfast for the past couple of weeks and love it. It is made from sprouted grains and is a complete protein. Swap this out for your bread products and you will look and feel better. It can be found in the health section freezer at Stop and Shop, bottom shelf. It is kind of hidden and is in a bright orange package. I think it is on the bottom shelf because its not popular with the general public/land whales.

5. With the weather starting to get nicer, you need to start today building the physique you want to unveil when you take your clothes off. What will people say about you? Because they are definitely judging you.

2010 Spring Session for Middle and High School Athletes

2010-03-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Sullivan Training Systems 2010 Spring Session

The spring session will feature a 2, 3, and 4 day option. It will be a 12 week program that will feature the style of training that has made us successful. Each 60-80 minute session will be geared towards making you the strongest player on the ice/field.

Start Date: March 15, 2010
End Date: June 5, 2010

Each session will be 60-80 minutes

Spring Session will run Monday-Thursday with your option or training 2 days, 3 days, or 4 days per week.

Pricing:

2 day: $429
3 day: $629
4 day: $829

Monthly Payment Plan is also available so you don't have to pay in full up front. Any questions, please email me at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com or call 781.831.3901

Sull's Gym: 2 Years

2010-02-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

This week marks the 2 year anniversary of Sullivan Training Systems. I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect a bit on this journey. As my writing style dictates I usually like a bunch of random thoughts in bullet point format, I find it easier to read and hope that you do too.

1. I can't believe it has been 2 years since I first opened a training facility. It feels like last week I was still at 86 Hancock Street in Braintree. Not too long ago, I was cold calling at EMC immediately after graduation.

2. Old Gym was a second floor "studio" (used loosely) with no parking, hidden location, minimal signage, 800 square feet of training space, 8 foot ceilings with people over 5'10" constantly military pressing barbells through the shitty ceiling tiles, no room for speed and sprinting work, and 18 clients in my first summer of business.

3. STS Weymouth (newer Gym, will have been located here for one year this April) is a ground floor warehouse space, with good visibility in an industrial park, 25 foot ceilings, 35 yards of indoor turf, and 38 clients for the first summer session here, with this summer's goal of 64 clients (lofty, but so what).

4. With the new space, expenses have tripled, so I have had to really tough out some tough months as we get going. Increased expenses means increased stress as a business owner cutting the checks. It has been really important to remain positive knowing that business will continue to increase.

5. Business has continued to increase each quarter and I am expecting a huge boom for this upcoming summer season.

6. It is extremely important to have supportive friends and family. If it wasn't for my family letting me temporarily losing my mind and driving across the USA, I would never be in the position that I am today. My mom has been a huge help in keeping track of accounting issues and keeping the books organized, and Dad has been a huge help as a sounding board for business issues, sales advice, and being a dedicated client and walking billboard for the results he has gotten working out at STS.

7. I think the count is now at 734,000 for the number of times I have had this exchange: (Sull walks into watering hole in Boston to bend the elbow with some friends...) "Hey Sull, how's business?" "It's going great man, lot of fun, I love it." "That's great to hear, I gotta start getting in there a couple of times per week."

While the interest is great, I wonder: I hope people don't feel like we have nothing else to talk about. I am just interested in having a few beers, some shitty food, and relaxing, same as you. Just to let you know, people who say this NEVER come in to workout, and that is perfectly fine. I realize it is a pain in the ass to leave Boston after work to get to Weymouth to workout. So let's talk about the Olympics, where the most recent phantom bed-wetter has struck, whose girlfriend is the hottest, how great this burger is, etc.

8. As I settle in to this business, I am beginning to realize what I have to offer the marketplace that is better than my competition. I really believe that 50 percent of what I do is Fitness/Strength and Conditioning. I believe whatever makes up that other 50 percent is really where I excel. Some of it is intangible stuff, some of it isn't. I just know that if you hand me your 14 year old son or daughter for 12 weeks per summer, I will return you a kid who has gotten brutally strong, overcome numerous obstacles, no longer makes excuses for things that they can control, is mentally tough, and has a new found love for improving themselves in the gym. I know that anyone who spends a Fall Session working with Jeff, Brendan, or myself wouldn't dream of spending next fall anywhere else. There is a Planet Fitness one half mile from my door, so there is more to this thing than plates and barbells.

9. Every day when I turn the key to unlock the gym, I am thankful that I get to do this. My goal for every person that walks through the door is that the hour or two that they spend with me will be the best part of their day.

Mentally Tough Teenagers?

2010-02-02T06:47:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been hearing from a lot of fellow coaches about the same issue. Their athletes are not mentally tough, they shut down when faced with the slightest bit of adversity, and they are not nearly as gritty as the athletes they have coached over the past 10 years. I have to agree completely. As I get more experience in dealing with young athletes it is clear to me that a good portion of these kids are weak. In every aspect possible. Now that we agree on this point, how do we move forward?

I often catch myself falling into the trap of "when I was in high school" or "when I was a kid" and stopping before I start a 5 minute rant. For me, berating people with how tough you were as a kid doesn't help anyone accept pump your own ego.

Instead of bitching and moaning about how weak kids these days are, do something about it. Personally I plan on taking the kids on my high school team and the athletes who enter my facility and placing them in difficult situations, often. Pushing them through discomfort and forcing them to compete against each other, and teaching them about digging deep. On a regular basis I implement rules and strategies at the gym that do not allow kids to say things like "I can't". I do not accept excuses from young athletes and practice the policy of brutal honesty with them. To me it is a change from the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality that they deal with at school and local sports.

In short, let's stop the "when I was a kid" rants and actually try to help these kids get tougher. Some kids will shut down and some kids will respond. Focus on the ones who respond.

Congratulations: Richie Aylward

2010-01-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a short moment to say congratulations formally to Richie Aylward. Rich was recently accepted into the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and will be joining the Buccaneers next Fall. Richie has been training with me since I started out on my own. Between sessions in the basement/garage and local shopping mall parking lots, Rich has established himself as a big, strong, athletic kid who will play Football and Track & Field in college. More importantly for Richie, he will be attending a school that will allow him to pursue a career on the high seas. Having spent a lot of time on boats with Rich, most memorably a voyage from Buzzards Bay to Nantucket Island in a hail storm in 6 foot seas (on a 19 foot boat) to celebrate July 4th, I know this next step for him is the right one. So congratulations Richie, thanks for your support my friend.

Peak Inside STS Weymouth

2010-01-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

When I went to the gym today, I planned to work up to a heavy weight and get after some bench press singles. I personally believe winter is a good time for me to build up my top end strength. However, as I was warming up on the bench, I noticed I had some pain in my left hand. I was determined to get a workout in, but a lot of exercises hurt. As I was taking a look at the workout plan for some of my fitness clients, I figured that I could get through most of it with minimal pain. What I did was this:

Foam Roll
Dynamic Warmup
Mini Circuit that consisted of:

plank variation for reps
glute bridge for 30 seconds
ankle mobility drill
and overhead squats

Workout was as follows:

Front Squat or goblet squat (went with 185 lbs on the front squat) paired with a series of short sprints, suicide style for 5 sets with 1 minute rests between sets. This by itself was a pretty decent workout and had me laying on the turf with my chest heaving. I rested for a couple minutes then attacked two more pairs of exercises. Number 2 was pushups vs. bands paired with renegade row, both for 10 reps x 5 sets with 1 minute rests. Number 3 was recline rope rows for 10 reps paired with 15 sandbag swings for 5 sets with 1 minute rests. All said and done I was smoked. Bottom line, you should be able to figure out how to train around an injury or a small setback, if you don't ask!

Best,

TSull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

New Years Ressy Update

2010-01-19T06:13:00.000-08:00

Right now is a great time to do a status check on your New Year's Resolutions. How are they going? If you are not where you would like to be, simply reset your goals and start over. This is one of the biggest reasons why I dislike formal resolutions and prefer traditional goal setting exercises. If you took my advice and set a goal for 15 weight workouts and 15 cardio/conditioning workouts for January, you still have 12 days left to achieve your goal. So, stop feeling bad for yourself for falling off the wagon, and get back after it. If you need a little push, here is one for today. After work and voting (in Mass), try this:

Pair these two lifts together:

Goblet Squat 5 sets of 5
Chin Ups 5 sets of 5

Perform with minimal rest between sets. Then finish with:

Treadmill tabata sprints. Warm up on the treadmill by gradually increasing speed for 4 minutes until you are at 75 percent of max effort. Let the treadmill belt run at this speed. CAREFULLY, get on while holding the handrails until you catch up to the belt and sprint for 20 seconds. Take 10 seconds rest and repeat :20 work, :10 rest for a total of 8 reps. Shower and go home. You have just done one weight workout and one cardio workout. Chalk today up as a 'W'.

Go get it done,

TSull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

Pond Hockey Footage

2010-01-11T09:31:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, the boys got together to play a little pond hockey in Canton, Ma, on Messenger Street. There isn't a lot better than a good group of guys, some pond hockey, and mother nature keeping the beers ice cold. Check out some of the throwback jerseys.

100th Post on TSull's World

2010-01-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't written in a while and its only because I had nothing valuable to say. But when I logged in this morning and saw that I had 99 posts, I figured 100 posts was as good an occasion as any to write. So let's keep this random.

1. Gym, Tan, Laundry. If you watch the Jersey Shore, you know what I am talking about. The more I watch, the more I think that these guys have figured it out and we are all wrong.

2. My training plan for January is very basic. My favorite author, Dan John, has become famous for a program titled "One Lift a Day". I have decided to dedicate myself to completing this in January. It is not complicated, just difficult. Or as he says, "Simple, not easy." I have gotten rid of everything except for the big basic lifts. Here is the plan. I foam roll and then start lifting.

Monday = Bench Press
Tuesday = Pull Ups
Wednesday = Squat (and I have used the back squat, which I don't have a lot of experience with)
Thursday = Off
Friday = Military Press
Saturday = Deadlift
Sunday = Off

So far I am loving the simplicity, but hating the brutality.

3. How's your New Years Resolution going? If you slipped up already, who cares. Get back at it. 15 weight workouts and 15 conditioning workouts per month.

4. Here is what I have been doing in my free time:

New Years Resolutions 2010

2009-12-28T05:31:00.001-08:00

By now, if you know me personally or are a follower of the blog, you know that I am not a fan of traditional New Years Resolutions. I think if you are making one the way most people do, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and I would bet that you don't last 3 weeks. What do you think will happen on January 1st to magically spur you on towards your goals? If you want something badly enough, set your goal, make a game plan and persist until you achieve it. January 1st is no easier than December 29 to start making strides towards your goal. With that bit out of the way, I know you are going to give yourself a New Years Resolution, or two, or three. With that in mind, let's tackle how I think you should set these up.

Although I think this approach will work for any resolution you make, let's talk fitness or health or weight loss, what ever you want to call it. First pick ONE thing. Please don't say, "This year, I am going to get serious about losing weight, or I am going to lose weight, or exercise more or a host of other broad, useless goals. Take a sheet of paper and hand write out your goal. If you are heavy, then losing an amount of weight is a fine goal. If you are overweight, let's say " I will lose 10 pounds in January, 10 pounds in February, and 10 pounds in March." Boom! 30 pounds lighter by April. If you need to lose weight then steal that one from me. However, I don't think everyone needs to lose weight, most people want to look better naked which is a combination of losing bodyfat and building lean muscle. The number on the scale may not change or it may increase (same for you girls). This one is a tougher one to measure since it is fairly subjective. How about taking out a piece of paper and writing down, " I will perform 15 workouts using weights in January. I will perform 15 conditioning workouts in January." Repeat this for February and March. If you were to do this, you will definitely achieve your goals. Simple, but not easy. Write it on a piece of paper and hang it on the fridge in plain sight. Let's look at this even further and break it into steps:

1. Hand write goal, hang it on fridge. Goal must be very specific and carry a deadline, no open ended commitments. Feel free to steal the 15 and 15 one. The more I think about it, the more I like it.

2. Tell everyone about it. Post it on facebook, ask close friends and family to hold you accountable and be your support team. Its tougher to let others down than yourself.

3. You need to go to CVS, or better yet steal one from the supply closet at work, but get yourself a notebook dedicated to your goal. Now everyday write down what you did to get you closer to your goal. With a marker or red pen, at the end of every day, put a large Win or Loss for how you would rate your performance for that day (nutrition and workout for the day).

4. Keep in mind, not everyone goes undefeated. Let's shoot for 12 wins and 3 losses or better through 15 days. Let's also keep tally of weight workouts and cardio/conditioning workouts for the month. See if you can get to 15 and 15. If you get to 12 and 11, and normally you would do 6 and 6 for a month, we are on our way.

5. Let's take it month by month and day by day versus Lose 50 pounds in 2010. Let's lose 4.166 pounds per month instead and tackle it that way.

Now, if you need more specific help fire me an email at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com. If you want a plan, that will cost you a couple of bucks. If you have a simple question, that will be free of charge.

PS. Think about joining a 3 day per week class to help you hit your goals. While I think I offer a great program, not everyone can get to Weymouth during the week, so email me if you want to train with me once a week.

The Mighty Ducks

2009-12-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

So last night I am scrolling through On-Demand pretty late at night bored and come across the original Mighty Ducks. Haven't seen the original in like 8 years so I hunkered down and watched it while finishing a chicken parm sub from Capone's in Weymouth. Tough to stay lean with a midnight chicken parm, I know. Here are some things to think about:

1. Hans' F#cking skate shop is the size of TD Banknorth Garden. I always thought it was like the basement of some shitty rink. Also, why is he sharpening skates at 1 oclock in the morning when Bombay comes to visit. Definitely a cover up for having women locked in the basement well and dressing up in sexy lingerie.

2. On the roster of the Mighty Ducks is the youngest Pete from Nickelodeon's hit show "the adventures of Pete and Pete". The main character from "Heavyweights" with Ben Stiller as Tony Perkins is a defenseman on the squad. I believe his name was Jerry in HWs.

3. Every kid on the team sucks. I used to be mesmerized at how nasty the Hawks were. Guess what, except for Adam Banks, they suck too.

4. Why didn't I ever question Gordon Bombay's hockey career? Best Pee Wee hockey player in the country, scored 198 points. Misses a penalty shot at the end of regulation in a state championship game and quits hockey. By the end of the movie, Bombay, now probably 35, gets a tryout with a minor league team. So a guy who hasn't skated since he was 10 has a shot to play professional hockey. This is the exact same thing as me trying out for NFL Europe. I once blocked 4 punts in a game against Hingham in Pop Warner (mostly because I was 45 pounds heavier than the poor bastard blocking me), so I guess that qualifies me for professional football.

5. I always remembered Charlie's mom being hotter. Definitely an upgrade in D2 with Coach Michelle McKay (Duluth, Minnesota) who was also their teacher.

6. How about the "flying V play"? I mean, really? I would have taken 25 steps and ran the lead duck in the V and put an end to that play pretty damn quick.

7. I still watched the whole thing and was on the edge of my seat when Charlie Conway went for his own version of the miserable "Triple Deke".

New Years Resolution Help.

2009-12-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

Just a heads up: I am getting a good amount of people asking for help in designing workout plans. I think a lot of this comes with the time of year. I would be happy to help you develop a plan for fat loss to help you with your goals. For a 12 week program I charge $179 dollars. Yes, you need to dedicate 12 weeks to notice visible changes in your body. If interested, shoot me an email at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com.

Happy Friday.

2009-12-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

1. When I worked at EMC, Brian Boyson used to send out a mass email that said "Here's to another Van Damme Friday, which featured a clip of JCVD dancing around like a fruit cake. If anyone has access to that please send it over. tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

2. One of my favorite workouts right now is a squat variation, a chin up variation, and a pushup variation with a rep scheme of 10,9,8, 7...1. 10 squats, 10 chinups, 10 pushups, then 9, 9, 9, 8, 8, 8, and so on with minimal rest. I like front squat, chin up, feet elevated pushup after a good warmup.

3. Jersey Shore. I cannot help but be mesmerized by this show. I want to hate the guys and girls on the show but I am just too entertained. I feel like it is staged, do people really act like that? I want to plan a trip to the Jersey Shore for next summer. Like going to the zoo.

4. I read an article on T-nation today that was one of the simplest/best I have read. It was about must have food and supplement choices. From this, make a shopping list of beef, eggs, broccoli, walnuts, blueberries, chicken, tuna, and greek yogurt. Load up on this stuff, keep the bad stuff out of your house all together. It is impossible to get fat on this stuff. For supplements, I think the average gym goer needs a good protein supplement, a fish oil supplement, and some green tea.

5. My workout music selection has been really weird lately. I guess you can only take so much AC/DC, Rage against the machine, etc. I have been listening to live Pearl Jam, Lynard Skynard, and Bruce Springsteen right now and its been a nice change. Pearl Jam's present tense feel good in particular.

6. Weird one here: One of my go-to business books is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. There is a section that talks about your primary aim. Here is how he describes it (paraphrased): At your own wake, your friends and family are standing around. From the four corners of the room comes a tape recording of your voice. You are addressing your guests. You are telling them the story of your life. How would you like that story to go? What would you like to be able to say about your life? If you were to write that script, how would you do it? Once you create the script, all you need to do is make it come true.

For me, this is a really strange and thought provoking topic that I struggle with. I guess I just wanted you all to feel as uncomfortable as I do.

Have the best weekend of your life,

Tom

How to be the best at any endeavor.

2009-12-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with my coaching mentor, Jamie Rice. Coach Rice is the head hockey coach at Babson College whom I played for, for my final two years. This winter I took the assistant coaching position at North Quincy High School for boys varsity hockey. I have high hopes of having a positive impact on these kids. I think when I originally approached this gig, I was going about it all wrong. After speaking with coach, the outlook that he presented is so much smarter that I feel like a DB based on my previous thoughts. I really think this has tremendous carryover to life as well.

One of the points coach brought up really opened my eyes. He said to think about the way I train beginners. You don't take a beginner and have him load up a bunch of plates and go for a deep back squat or a heavy clean. We do things like mastering a set of 25 pushups, 3 x 8 in the pull up, and 3 x 8 perfect technique in the overhead squat. From there we move on to getting very strong in basic movement patterns. That makes perfect sense to me. I wish I had thought about hockey that way. My high school guys need to be VERY good at really basic stuff. Things like handling a puck with speed, playing from the middle of the ice out, passing and receiving pucks, and defending. If we can be the best in the league at these things, who the f#ck cares if we know how to play a left wing lock or a trap. No one in our league will be better at handling pucks, skating, passing, and defending. That will give us a great chance of winning every night. Relating it back to training, I am confident that if my high school players can do a heavy split squat (foot elevated), climb a 25 rope with no leg use, deadlift 1.5 bodyweight, and win foot races, that will put them in a position to be the best player on their team. That's really it. The athletes who can do these tasks are always the strongest, fastest guys or girls on the ice. Let's see if I can swing this analogy to my life.

There are probably 4-5 things that I should focus on that would have the largest impact on my bottom line, my health, my relationships, and my financial health. Right now I will try to figure these out. Stay tuned for my next post as I try to get into more life detail on this. In the meantime if you are reading this with the intention of getting lean or strong or whatever. My advice to you would be to pick 4-5 things and be better than everyone else at them. A quick list might be.

1. Lift weights with high intensity (in other words make it hard on yourself) 4 times per week.
2. Do some type of fast paced cardio or bodyweight circuit 2 times per week.
3. Cut all starch out of your final meal of the day.
4. Limit Booze intake to 2 nights per week.

If you get REALLY friggin good at these 4 things, you might find in 4 weeks that you have really improved your physique, your confidence, your outlook on life.

For a salesperson maybe its:

1. Make 25 calls per day to new prospects.
2. Visit 3 of your best customers daily in person just to say hello and listen to their concerns.
3. Align yourself with one new organization or team or strategic partnership per month.
4. Find a way to get new proposals and quotes out there even earlier than promised.

Not a sales expert, but use your imagination. I bet if you were better than everyone in your field at those 4 things, you would rank in the top 5 in sales.

Just some thoughts. Let me know what you think.

TSull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

Athlete Success: Pistol Pete Cronin

2009-12-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

Peter Cronin is a freshman goaltender at BC High over on Morrissey Blvd. Pete spent the entire summer and fall training with us over at STS. When we first got Pistol in the gym, he was just like every other typical beginner: lacking basic levels of strength, conditioning, movement quality, and unsure of his physical boundaries. Fast forward to last week's Massachusetts High School Hockey tryouts:

Hi Tom, it's Peter Cronin just letting you know that I made the BC High Varsity squad. I just wanted to let you know how much your program helped me and pushed me to be my very best. There is a very good chance that this wouldn't have happened without you. I look forward to continuing in the future and spreading the word about your gym.

I also received this email from his Dad:

Hi Tom:I echo Peter's comments. He's clearly stronger and recovers much more quickly than he did just a few months ago. Each of the four consecutive nights of tryouts was 2+ hours and he was stronger at the last tryout than he was at the first. The important thing is that he notices the difference and that appears to help his confidence.

Quite an accomplishment Pete! Congratulations!

Winter 2009 at Sullivan Training Systems

2009-12-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Below is today's post which is a mind dump on some things I am thinking about. It is one of those posts that I always ask myself after writing, "why am I telling people this?" I think the reason I write posts like this is it helps me lay everything out in front of me, highlights issues, holds me accountable because people know I can be an idiot, and also highlights some issues in owning your own business.

Winter is usually a pretty stressful time of year for me. As a new business owner I have done a piss poor job in managing the business in the best way possible. Basically what has happened in the almost 2 years that I have been in business is as follows:

Summer: absolute gongshow, plenty of athletes, 10-12 hours per week of training with the Mass Satellite Program, lots of general fitness clients, people getting great results, play golf 3 times a week, party two nights a week, do a couple of trips to cape cod and the islands, life is good. Except that the appropriate thing for me to do would be stuff a lot of the cash into the mattress to provide a cushion as business slows down or save for some new equipment, or save money for necessities like rent, food, a new vehicle (mine is just about ready to power down), you know the usual stuff.

Fall: Business slows down but I hang on to a lot of my hockey guys as they get ready for their winter season. I didn't do a good enough job of retaining general fitness clients for fall, but my staff has gone back to school so expenses are less since I am running a one man show. I am paying my bills but can no longer afford to golf or party a couple of nights per week.

Winter: Since I have been running the place by myself, I have been operating as a trainer who happens to own a facility. I need to retool my mindset and try to look at it as a business owner who trains people. For more clarification, when I have staff in the summer, my role is to design all of the workouts, plan the sessions, attract clients, keep clients, answer the phone, and train a couple of groups per day. In the Fall, I do everything including running every session in addition to the other jobs. However, I find that the business development stuff suffers as I focus on developing great training programs and running successful sessions. So now I have spent less time on getting new clients which means all of the hockey guys who have gone back to playing will only be here once per week, which means monthly dues will be a lot less. Now I have to try to scramble for clients, make late payments on bills, let the books go to hell, and have a nervous breakdown. Real chicken with the head cut off type of act.

My saving grace this winter will be some of the teams that have chosen to train with us in season as well as my duties as Assistant Hockey Coach at North Quincy High School.

Spring will pick back up with my hockey players, new fitness clients, and always a couple of other positive surprises.

A case of the Mondays.....

2009-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

A bunch of random thoughts:

1. With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I plan on taking some time away from training athletes and clients. I think it is important to spend some time with Family and Friends this week and in the coming holidays. Having said that (any Curb fans out there), I do plan on getting into the gym on Thursday morning, Friday morning, and once more over the weekend. These will be brief but intense workouts to combat the caloric intake of the holidays. Usually at about 8pm on Thanksgiving, I take two pieces of Italian bread and begin to build...layer of stuffing, pile of turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, miracle whip, salt and pepper. I literally have to step on it to get it in my mouth, so I figure I need to keep training.

2. For my winter athletes, this is their last week of training before hockey tryouts. These kids are in the best shape of their lives and are looking forward to attacking tryouts. These kids were all beginners when they came in. Most are still relatively skinny kids but their strength levels have shot up as well as their mental toughness reserves and I believe they are ready to go.

3. The past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of working out with my longtime friend, Chris Cullen, who is in town for Thanksgiving. Chris is an Army Pilot who flies Blackhawk helicopters (how cool is that) and is stationed in Alaska and recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. On Friday we did a team competition in which we pit civilians (Brian Sull, Joe Fernald, and myself) against US Military (Chris Cullen and Mike Aylward USMC). The workout consisted of 5 chinups, 10 steps lungewalk, med ball side toss x 3 (left and right), and a 100 yard sprint out and a 100 yard sprint back as fast as possible. We competed head to head in each round and am sad to report that the Civi's lost 5-3.

Saturday Sweat being postponed.

2009-11-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

Quick Update.

I am postponing all Saturday Sweat workouts until after the holiday. Check back after Thanksgiving to see the updated schedule.

TSull

Heading in to the Holiday Season...

2009-11-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

Right now, a lot of fitness professionals and strength coaches are starting to write about the holiday season. It is said that most people will gain somewhere between 3-10 pounds of fat during the holidays with some people gaining even more. I think the reason why a lot of people get fat is this steady progressive weight gain. Most people don't blow up over night but if you think about 8 pounds of fat per year, that means in 5 years you are 40 pounds heavier, which is a whole lot more than you weigh now. Here is how I typically advise people to get through the holiday season.

1. Don't try to diet through the holidays. People will think you are a douchebag if you start talking about no stuffing or mashed potatoes as they shovel it on their plate (pass me my shovel please).

2. Maintain or increase your training intensity. Workout on Thanksgiving morning before the feast, and the day after as well. The best type of workouts to help battle fat gain are fast intense circuits or interval sprints which will elevate your metabolism for hours after.

I think just increasing your training intensity from Thanksgiving - New Years can work wonders for you. You will head into the new year with a solid idea of what it takes to prevent, and even lose fat so if you decide to make a resolution to lose fat, you have a jump start on all of those hogs who will be signing up for gym memberships come Jan 1st. These same people will spend 30 minutes on the elliptical sipping on a gatorade sports drink which will contain more sugar and calories than they will burn during their workout. They will be shocked that they aren't losing weight and will quit by Feb 15. Don't be that person. If you need ideas, just ask.

Best,

TSull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

Building Leg Strength.

2009-11-09T08:31:00.001-08:00

Back at it today after a long weekend in Montreal. I spent the weekend playing in a hockey tournament with some close friends at Les 4 Glaces in Montreal, Quebec. We were able to secure the championship trophy along with some serious off ice antics. Back to the business at hand...

Mike Boyle and Single Leg Squats

Mike Boyle just released Functional Strength Coach 3.0, which is a DVD set where Mike gets into detail about all of the latest and greatest in the industry of strength and conditioning. One piece that has created some stir is the section on squatting. In short, Coach Boyle explains how he believes that in order to build your most powerful legs, you should be training them 1 at a time. Just as some practical feedback, my Fall Athletes did some front squatting last week. When they looked at their weight sheets, they were nervous about doing poorly because they hadn't done a two legged squat since October 10th. The worst performance out of the group was a 25 pound increase in their heaviest 3 rep set, with the best performance being a 55 pound increase. That should eliminate any questions of whether or not you can get stronger doing 1 legged work. Most of the leg work that the athletes in my facility had been doing was the rear leg elevated split squat with dumbells and barbells.

If you are interested in building some solid pistons, these should be a staple in your program. I think the girls that read the blog will get some serious benefit from doing these as well. Beware that the first few times you perform these, you will have some soreness in your butt and hammys.

Best,

TSull

tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

A Day in the Life.

2009-10-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

I recently finished a Fat Loss Manual that is just a compilation of some of my thoughts on dieting for optimal physique with an eye on the real world. Most people can't and aren't willing to eat like bodybuilders (travelling with coolers full of chicken and brown rice), so I wrote this with you folks in mind.

Send me an email at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com if you would like a free copy.

As for the rest of this blog, it is a day in my life, and just a peak into what I do, day in, day out.

Here is typically what a day in the life of world famous, fitness pro Tom Sullivan looks like:

6:00am: Wake up, head to gym. Eat a quick breakfast of greek yogurt with added protein, walnuts and a piece of fruit.

6:30-7:30: First client of the day (Dad). Dad has some creaky knees, lower back pain, a tweaked neck, and occasional shoulder pain. 5 times a week he is in the gym getting a training effect, so I don't want to hear about your injuries. Any good trainer can train around your injuries effectively.

8:00-9:00: Another morning client on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Dayls).

10:00-11:00: Last morning client(s) of the day. Usually a small group of 2-3 men looking to get lean.

11:00am: Another scoop of protein, apple smothered in cinnamon raisin PB (Peanut Butter & Co. delicious). Return emails, phone calls, marketing activities, brainstorming, blogging, reading, researching. PS. My promptness in returning most peoples' calls really blows. In the words of Jason Smith, "It's gotta be better."

12:00pm-2:00pm: From 11:50 - 12:00, I watch an assortment of YouTube vids to get motivated to train for the day. If I am excited to train on that day, I will watch olympic weightlifting technique videos or people front squatting Toyotas to get in the zone. If I am being a little, whiny bitch (waahh, I don't like to train by myself) I will watch something more motivational. Then I foam roll, warmup and get into my workout. My favorite workout right now is Front Squat, Bent Row, DB Military Press for a rep scheme of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

2:30-3:00: Catch breath, shower, eat. Prepare for athletes.

3:00-8:00pm: During this time I see an average of 8-10 high school hockey players, 4-5 general fitness clients, and sometimes a 12-13 year old hockey team. These 5 hours are my reminder of why I do what I do. I love my morning clients and the time we spend together, but my true passion is teaching kids. To take a 130 pound kid who looks like a baby deer on ice, and in 5 weeks watch him hang clean his bodyweight (which is now 140-145 pounds) for 3 reps with excellent technique, and wash that down with a circuit of sprints, squats and 25 foot rope climb for 7 rounds, is unreal. To see a kid get to the ceiling climbing the rope for the first time and jump down with a huge smile and ripping my arm off with a high 5, makes me feel like the luckiest guy on earth. It has a tendency to give me some perspective the next time I get in my car with the hood bungy'd down that barely starts and is like chick repellent. It also puts me at ease when I ignore calls from my student loan lender and wake up in a cold sweat because I can't pay some of my bills on time this month.

8:30p: Home. Dinner (which lately has been a slow cooked stew, chili, or pile of other warm dead animals.) Little TV in my fat guy pants, comatose. Rinse and repeat everyday.

Fall Training Methods at Sull's Gym.

2009-10-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take an opportunity to share some insight to what I have been up to in training my athletes, clients, and myself lately. It helps me as a coach to take a step back and evaluate what's working, and what isn't.

Athletes

This fall I had the good fortune to be able to continue working with some of my athletes who have been with me since the beginning of summer. These kids have worked hard since June and the results really are amazing. Most of these guys are skinny kids who were slow, awkward, and weak. Some of these kids are now Hang Cleaning bodyweight for reps of 3 with solid technique, knocking out sets of 30 push ups, and 10+ pull ups. Their speed drills look really crisp and their conditioning levels are solid. Another point to mention is how "tough" these kids have gotten. Through training with heavy weights, challenging circuits, and competitions these kids have built a resevoir of mental toughness that will be exciting to see how they use them in the upcoming season.

So what has been working for these kids:

In the summer, when you have 120 minute sessions four times per week, no homework, and no organized sports, you have lots of freedom in what you want to do with athletes. In the Fall, we now have 80 minute sessions three times per week so it has become crucial that we have no wasted time. For our warmup we do 4-6 movement drills that include various skips, walks, and dynamic stretches followed by pull-ups (3x as many but not to failure), push ups, and either overhead squat practice or 3 sets of light olympic lift technique work. This type of warmup allows for repeition and practice and also to prepare the athlete to have primed his system for the lifts to come later in the workout. I think this type of warmup has been huge. We will do some jumping, some speed, Abs, and lift (not rocket science, just great technique with challenging weights). One day per week, we do the same set up but the lift changes to a circuit. Each circuit is designed to push the athletes limits of focus, technique, strength, and conditioning. A typical circuit might be to push the sled for 25 yards, climb a 20 foot rope, perform 6 goblet squats, and sprint 200 meters. Rest for 30-60 seconds and repeat somewhere between 4-7 times. It's amazing at how taxing these are. I will perform the circuit earlier in the day with my training partners and will lie on the turf for 10 minutes with my chest pounding and these kids will fly through a circuit and walk out the front door as if nothing happened.

Clients

Most of my regular clients come to train 2-3 times per week. I think for them, it is the hardest part of their day. Getting to the gym can be a victory in itself for people who work traditional jobs, so it is up to me to provide them with an exceptional experience to make their trip to the gym as productive and enjoyable as possible. I follow a similar format for their sessions as I do with my athletes. We always foam roll and work on soft tissue, go through a dynamic warmup, followed by adding in either a few sets of basic strength or movement patterns. Once per week we will do a ladder to get them moving their feet quickly (plus they enjoy this) and then it is on to abs. All of the ab drills I do with this population are some sort of a plank, anti-rotation, or anti extension exercise. Then we have a quick rest and water break (during this time I lay out whatever gear will be needed for their workout) and then it is on to the meat of the session. All of my sessions with these folks are a circuit combo of strength exercises, power exercises, mobility drills (active rest), and a conditioning exercise. A sample from last week would be: 100 pound sled drag for 25 yards, 4 T-Pushups, 3 Med Ball Slams, 5 Plate Raise Squats, Side lying Windmill, Med Ball Scoop Toss, and a hip mobility drill. We perform one round, rest for one minute and repeat for a total of 5-8 rounds depending on fitness level of each client.

Teams

I currently have two Select Hockey Teams (12-13 year olds and 13-14 year olds), and one midget youth program that I work with. For these teams, I only see them once per week for 60-75 minutes. With these teams on such a limited time basis, it is crucial that they get a productive session. The format remains the same for the teams as my high school kids for the most part. We do a dynamic warmup, a jumping/landing drill, a speed drill (tennis ball drops are their favorite), some stability abs for a couple minutes, then onto some other work. We will spread them out on the turf and have them go through a circuit of basic bodyweight strength stuff in their own little area where I fly around correcting technique. If they are focused and do everything I ask, we finish with some relay races and other fun stuff.

Myself/Training Partners

For the past 3 weeks, I have trained 6 times per week. Why 6 times? 3 times per week I perform the high school athlete workout. How can I effectively coach and expect things of the kids who come through the door if I can't perform and recover from the same workouts? The other three days per week I do some type of a metabolic circuit because as the months get colder I find myself eating shittier food and drinking more beer than I typically would, so I try to offset that in the gym. Is this sound logic? Not really, I could make better progress doing a better job in the kitchen and cutting back on the moonshine, and not having to train as hard. I guess it comes down to priorities and being in single digit bodyfat just isn't a high priority for me. A tyical training week for me will look like this: every session starts with a foam roll/soft tissue session followed by a dynamic warmup followed by some plyos and speed (which I do three days per week), followed by 8-10 minutes of abs and stretching. Monday is close grip snatch for 6 sets, rear leg elevated split squats for 5 sets and a variation of weighted pullups for 5 sets. Then conditioning for 12 minutes of sprints or slide boards. The rest of the lifts look like this with an explosive/olympic lift followed by two big compound lifts done with heavy weight.

Friday September 24th. Free Form Friday #1

2009-09-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

(Pic has nothing to do with post, just funny.)

If any of you out in the blogosphere listen to Dennis and Callahan on WEEI in the morning, you will recognize that I completely stole the Free Form Friday thing from them. Basically it means that any topic is fair game. So here goes (language may get ugly here as this is off the cuff, so don't read if you get offended easily)

1. I don't want to hear another former collegiate athlete ask for workout advice only to follow this up with, "I don't need to be doing squats or fast lifts anymore, I just want to tighten up a little and get back down to playing weight." Listen stupid, did you ever think the reason why you were a piece of twisted steel in college may have been due to the intensity with which you trained?

2. In the same vein, I can help you with diet advice, but when it boils down to it, you know what you should and shouldn't eat. Can you have abs if you eat takeout 3-4 times per week. No, you can't.

3. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. This relates to life, training, and diet/physique goals. "Jeez, Sull, the program you put together for me sure looks tough." Oh, I'm sorry, I was under the impression you wanted to get stronger, leaner, faster, and lose your sweetbreads. If you want cookie cutter, shitty, easy to do programs, go to the latest Men's Health and perform this month's "Pump up your guns workout".

4. If you are performing "arm workouts" or "arm day" and aren't a competitive bodybuilder, jerk the wheel into the next sand filled yellow barrel that you see on highway off ramps. You need to burn calories. No one likes a fat guy with big arms because people who don't workout will just see you as a fat guy.

5. Girls, the jogging and lettuce diet needs to end. You will have way more fun lifting weights and doing circuits/eating real food than pounding your joints into oblivion. Add a daily 5 miles and high heels to your regimen and talk to me when you are forty, you will be wrecked.

6. Everyday, eat 3 or 4 eggs for breakfast plus a little thing of yogurt and watch your energy levels improve and your waist tighten up. Your current regime of Iced Coffee for breakfast, salad for lunch, and 9 pizzas for dinner isn't working. Try to eat most of your calories by 5pm.

7. They are doing fire alarm tests at my gym today, even though the nice man told me they would be going off in 10 minutes (exactly 10 minutes ago) I am now looking for Ray Finkle and a clean pair of shorts.

Have a great weekend.

"When Things Go Wrong, Simplify"

2009-09-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I write a blog, I steal information from other trainers, strength coaches, and nutrition experts (not Doctors or Nutritionists because most of them don't know shit). Is it plagiarism? I don't know. I try to give credit to whoever I took it from, but didn't pay attention to 10th grade English class when they told us how to do a bibliography. This tidbit was stolen from Dan John, author of Never Let Go. Why wouldn't I steal from someone who was been into strength and conditioning for 40 years? I know that the people following this blog would never get this information otherwise, so I look at it as my responsibility to bring it to you.

"When things go wrong, simplify."

In Coach John's book he talks about throwing the discus, and having to really get back to basics when his technique went to hell for short periods of time. He also talked about how this applies to most areas in your life. Let me explain:

Suppose you find yourself a little bit fatter after Labor Day and you realize that you took the last few weeks (months) and ate like hell and skipped more than your fair share of workouts. Upon analysis, you decide you need to do spinning classes before work, eat bird seed all day, do two hours of weights after work, take fat burning pills, and only eat boiled cabbage. More often than not, the answer lies in simplifying things. Just get back to basics with four well designed workouts per week, and get back in the saddle with a diet strategy that works for you. Give it a couple of weeks and you will be back down to fighting weight.

The last point I want to make is that simple isn't always easy. Simple is simple, but simple isn't easy. If I tell you to simplify your workouts and do two exercises and those exercises are front squats and pull ups, that's simple, but try it for two weeks and let me know if it is easy.

Farmer's Markets

2009-09-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been getting robbed after my experience this week at a local farm stand. I have driven by this place about 200 times in my life and never stopped in even though I understand the health and physique benefits of eating locally grown produce. The place is Christopher's Farm Stand in Weymouth, and here is what I purchased:

2 dozen locally laid eggs

1 whole watermelon

1 whole pineapple

2 red bell peppers

2 green bell peppers

3 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 habanero pepper

2 bags of Spinach

1 pound of strawberries

1 large onion

5 cloves of garlic

5 apples of different variety

2 nectarines

Grand total: $28.59

Are you shitting me? I feel like a complete DBag for not discovering this sooner. The next time you are driving or walking past a farmers market stop and load up. Then lug your baskets full of produce home and up a few flights of stairs for a little extra conditioning.

The Saturday Sweat

2009-09-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

A few months back we launched a program called the Saturday Sweat. This workout was designed to allow people who don't normally train with us during the week to come by on a Saturday morning and get a great workout in with a group of like minded individuals. People have really been enjoying this as a change of pace from their typical training. In case you didn't know:

Saturday Mornings
Walk-in sessions at 9am and 11am
60 minute session
$15 cost

65 Mathewson Drive, Unit B
Weymouth, Ma 02189

I have heard from others that there is a certain level of intimidation involved with folks who would like to come and workout but are scared. I want to let you know that this isn't bootcamp style training. No one will scream at you, embarrass you or act like an idiot. The group is very supportive, and everyone bonds through the task at hand. The workouts also can be scaled for different fitness levels and ages.

The Saturday Sweat is a Wide Open Invitation for anyone who reads the blog. We would love to have everyone come by and train with us. If you plan on coming by, shoot me a quick email at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com or drop a comment here.

During the session we may push sleds, do bodyweight circuits, lots of different ab training that I guarantee you aren't doing right now, and a bunch of other stuff crammed into 60 minutes.

Look forward to seeing you this weekend,

Tom

Gearing up for Fall.

2009-09-09T08:04:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, the Fall may be the best time of the year to get dialed in on your training and physique goals. With the cooler weather in the Fall you get a number of benefits that directly relate to your health and fitness levels:

No more sweating yourself to sleep. Great sleeping weather with the windows open. Sleep is hands down the best thing you can do for your health and fitness. 8 hours is a must, non-negotiable.

Less Tuesday nights spent at the Atlantic Beer Garden roof deck having 8 drinks and 2 appetizers. The motivation won't be there if it is 50 degrees.

Great workout weather. With temps in the 60s, you will find yourself able to workout harder and longer, free from the oppressive heat.

These three things should be used as that spark to get you going again.

Assess Your Training Plan

With the new Fall season upon us, it is also time to take a look at your training. I would be willing to bet the house on the fact that you spent all summer doing the same training, week in, week out. Did your summer weekdays look like this at all?

Take the bus to work downtown.

Work from 7:30am - 6pm.

Hustle to the gym for either a spin class, a total body pump class, or just go out and pound pavement for 30 minutes.

Home.

Wake and repeat.

Maybe you got decent results. Maybe not. I know that getting your workout in is as much mental as physical. You just feel better about yourself if you get that work done. Now is the time to switch up your program. You really need to make some changes to see some changes. Chances are your body is used to Yogging for 30 minutes at a moderate pace. It probably isn't even that hard for you anymore. What to do?

Lift weights and sprint.

Do bodyweight circuits and complexes.

Swim.

Try a new class.

Think about what you have been doing and start making a few changes. I can help you with program design. I have been putting together some 12 week programs for people who have been getting great results.

Get after it,

TSull

tsullivanjr@gmail.com

Tuesday September 8th, 2009. End of Summer

2009-09-08T09:49:00.001-07:00

The end of summer is now upon us. I hope you took July and August (June was a wash, literally) and really got after it with friends and family. To bring things relevant to my side of things...how was your physique? When you see pictures of yourself posted up on Facebook from the 4th of July, Labor Day, Cook outs, parties, etc...do you cringe? Or are you excited because you know you put in some serious work? Now is the time to take some stock in what went well and what didn't. In the period leading up to summer (February-May) did you get to the gym 4 times per week? Did you cut starchy carbs out of your diet during the week? Did you eat a large, nutritious breakfast everyday? Did you drink a gallon of water everyday? If you did these things and weren't satisfied with the results, you probably weren't training hard enough or smart enough. If you did these things there is a good chance you were more than happy with the way your body looked, felt, and performed.

I really believe that the Fall is a great time to dial it in for the first time or dial it back in after an end of summer binge (in my case). With kids going back to school and the weather cooling down, to me it is everything you need to start building a foundation of solid fitness, on which to build a peak level of fitness for different times of the year that you choose (almost like a bodybuilder getting ready for a show). If you stay at 80 percent of your best condition year round, it is easy to get beach ready or vacation ready. Getting your body in top condition isn't like studying for a final exam (cramming). You can't just starve yourself for 2 weeks and do endless cardio to get ready. Now is the time to begin building the foundation.

Here is a snack to use between meals to help keep your diet on track.

Chobani Greek Yogurt (buy at any supermarket. 15 grams of protein plus all kinds of good stuff).
-I sort of stole this idea from Tony Gentilcore, a Boston based trainer.

Add a 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein and a few walnuts and you have a snack designed to support your goals of looking good sans clothes.

Fall is also a time to revamp your training program if you have been doing the same thing over and over again. My work hours dwindle a little bit in the fall, so if you need help developing a program, I would be happy to help out.

Best,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Fall 2009

2009-08-11T05:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a minute to give everyone a heads up on some of the offerings at Sullivan Training Systems this Fall.

Athlete Strength and Conditioning

Starting on September 7th, 2009 we will continue to offer our services as the South Shore's best place to get bigger, stronger, and faster.

The Fall session will run from September 7th, 2009 - October 29th, 2009.

Session times will continue to roll out every hour from 3 - 8pm. Meaning there is a class at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8pm.

Training Days are Mon, Tues, Thursday, every week.

Cost is $249 per month.

Total Body Conditioning

TBC will be the name of what we will be offering to our regular clients. The primary goal of this program is rapid, sustainable fat loss, coupled with total body strength, and overall health.

This program will also feature rolling starts at 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8pm.

Training Days will be Monday - Thursday (choice of 2 or 3 days)

Cost for 2 Day: $179 per month

Cost for 3 Day: $249 per month

Semi Private and Private Training

Email for details.

Best,

T Sull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

Things that you never do....but should.

2009-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

1. Take the month of August off from all variations on chest training. Most guys I know will spend about 20 minutes on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday (or all 3) to blast their chest with flat bench, incline bench, flys, cable crossovers, pec dec, etc.

Instead, take that 20 minutes to focus on pull ups, and sprint cardio training. Your shoulders will feel way better, you will have a bigger back, and you will shed some bodyfat from your sprint training. A good way to get some sprint training in is to set a watch for 6 minutes and do a 50 yard build up sprint, rest for 5-10 seconds, and see how many reps you can get in for 6 minutes. Too easy? do 8 minutes or 10 minutes and make sure you are building up to 80 percent of full speed, it isn't a jog.

2. Start every workout with 5 sets of 5 in the front squat with a decent weight. It will warm your whole body up, improve your squat technique and tighten those legs up. It will also burn more calories than most of the other useless shit you plan to do for the rest of your workout. Most people never squat. Many of the former athletes I know who read the blog say things like, "I don't need to be squatting or training legs anymore." Last I checked you walk on your legs, not your arms.

3. Stability Abs: Replace your situps, crunches, leg raises, weighted situps, etc. with planks, side planks, and back bridges. Try doing some stability abs 4 times per week for a month and watch your midsection tighten up and your back pain start to fade away.

That's all for now. Start adding this stuff in today and I will be back with some more stuff you can try.

Monday Morning post after a long layoff.

2009-07-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't written a blog post in a long time. After getting chirped by a number of friends following the blog, I have decided to make an effort to get in at least on per week. The summer is the busiest time at STS Weymouth, and with 40 athletes, a dozen or so combat conditioning members, and Mass Satellite Hockey coaching, I have lost track of the blog. So here we go...

If Something is Important, Do it everyday

I stole this gem from Strength Coach Dan John, author of Never Let Go. Not only is this great advice for your training, but it can be applied to every area of your life.

You can't do a single pullup? Start doing 3 sets of whatever you can at the start of every workout. Do 3 sets of 8 jumping pullups, or assisted pullups. In 3 weeks you will be able to muster a couple of reps.

You need to lose 25 pounds of belly fat. Remove the starch from your diet every day. Watch the pounds fly off.

You have $2.67 in your saving account? Have 10% of your paycheck auto debited into your savings. I should follow this one myself. I often find myself without a pot to piss in.

With my summer athletes, I find that beginners who are 13-16 years old, have never trained before, and are built like Olive Oil from Popeye, can't perform any pullups, their pushups suck, and their squat technique is horrific. We have implemented pull ups everyday, pushups everyday, and 3x8 overhead broomstick squat at the start of every workout. The progress has been amazing.

For the everyday fitness enthusiast looking to slash bodyfat, let's apply this. What type of exercise is most effective for fat loss? I would argue that interval style cardio sessions and high intensity circuit training are.

Every day this week go to the gym and perform the following:

5 Overhead broomstick or hockey stick squats
5 pushups
3 pullups

repeat 10 rounds with as little rest as possible. rest 3 minutes and then go outside and sprint 100 yards, and light jog back to starting position. repeat 5 times.

Seriously, do this everyday this week. It might take 25 minutes total. You might lose 6 pounds this week...

3 Week's Out.

2009-06-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Today is June 10th. July 4th is right around the corner. Are you on track with your physique goals? Here are some things I am currently having success with in my own quest for a solid physique.

1. Diet. 5 days per week I eat the exact same thing. Smoothie for breakfast loaded with frozen fruit, protein powder, peanut butter, and ice. A couple of hours later I mix myself a protein shake. Then I train, and eat a salad with grilled chicken or steak. A couple hours later I have another shake, followed by a late dinner of either chicken or steak on a wrap or in a salad. Boring? Yes. Effective? Yes.

2. Training. 6 days per week I do some type of a difficult training session whether it be lifting heavy weights, doing a fast paced metabolic circuit, or a combination of both. Is it difficult at times? Yes, but if it were easy, everyone would do it and our country wouldn't be a bunch of whales.

3. Short rest periods. When I train, I hardly rest at all and it is working. If you are doing a set and then sitting down, grabbing water, or checking your blackberry, you are robbing yourselves of an effective workout.

4. 200-400 Meter "sprints". I have added in some middle distance sprints into my circuits and they are working wonders. You can almost feel the fat falling off.

5. Removing 90 percent of starch during the week. Get rid of your bread, pasta, potato, and rice if you haven't done so already.

6. Drink a gallon of water everyday.

7. Mike Aylward's bootcamp classes at night. If I am busy and can't get a workout in during the day, I hop in one of Mike's classes at night, and they are real ass kickers. Get yourself signed up as soon as possible.

Best,

TSull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

Independence Day July 4, 2009

2009-05-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend. Now that the unofficial start to summer has come and gone, it is time to take a step back and analyze some of the goals you had set for Memorial Day/Figawi Weekend. How did you do? Did you carve the physique you were after or did you sport the same love handles and sweet breads that you have been lugging around for what seems like decades? In analyzing how your goals were met or missed, you can take two directions.

1. You can continue to tweak your diet and training to reach new heights with your physique.

2. You can be a coward and make all kinds of excuses about cookouts, birthday parties, crazy work schedules, or whichever other horseshit you feel like trotting out to explain your dumpy body. When it comes down to it, no one really cares, you are still fat.

So regardless if you hit your goals, or missed your goals, I urge you to take another date (Independence Day, July 4th) to set some new goals and make some new plans to achieve them.

Sign up for Mike's BootCamp, come to Saturday Sweats, have me put together a program for you, do whatever it takes, but don't continue to be a fat slug on America's Birthday. You have a little more than 5 weeks. I will continue to help you with tips, workouts, etc.

Figawi Weekend, Saturday Sweat.

2009-05-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend has descended upon us. It is time to see if you have spent the last 3 months exercising and dialing in the nutrition or if you have been following the same shitty diet and training plan. While I am stuck in Weymouth, Ma, and most of you guys are out on Nantucket, I hope that when you start to peel those layers off people take notice of your hard work.

Saturday Sweat is on for tomorrow for everyone on the main land. Two open sessions at 9am and 11am. Everyone is welcome to join us. If you are away for Memorial Day Weekend, the only Saturday Sweat I want you to get is on the dance floor at the chicken box at 11pm.

Have a great weekend,

TSull
tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com
www.sullivantrainingsystems.com

STS Website Launch.

2009-05-18T05:56:00.001-07:00

I am excited to announce the launch of the official Sullivan Training Systems Website. If anyone following the blog needs some website work done, I have some great people who built the new site, so let me know. Also, I would love to hear your feedback on the new site whether it be good, bad, or indifferent. Here it is:

www.sullivantrainingsystems.com

Saturday Sweat Tomorrow and Training Intensity

2009-05-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that tomorrow marks the third Saturday Sweat. We are picking up some good momentum with a lot of new faces. Hopefully you can join us at either 9am or 11am on Saturday morning.

Training Intensity

Lately I have been putting a lot of thought into training intensity. Let's start by defining intensity. In broad, general terms, I would define training intensity as the level of perceived difficulty as it relates to an exercise, a workout, or even a series of workouts. Let's face it, if you drag yourself to the gym after work a few times per week, you are better than 90% of America's population. But are you really training hard enough to alter your body?

You can get intensity from heavier weights, longer sets, faster movements, longer workouts, and more challenging exercises and movements. However you decide, try to get some more intensity into your training. We will be getting intense Saturday Morning. Will you?

This Week at STS....May 11, 2009

2009-05-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone. Here is what's happening at STS Weymouth this week.

Monday:
Regular training sessions and Spring Athletes

Tuesday:
Regular training, Spring Athletes
Mike Aylward's FREE Group Session at 7:00PM
==> This is a continuation of May's free sessions from Mike. These have been a huge success and we invite everyone to come check it out!

Wednesday:
Regular training

Thursday:
Regular training

Thursday:
Regular Training
Mike Aylward's FREE Group Session at 7:00PM
==> This is a continuation of May's free sessions from Mike. These have been a huge success and we invite everyone to come check it out!

Friday:
Regular Training and Athletes

Saturday:
Saturday Sweat Session at 9 and 11am. 15 clams per person.

Saturday Sweat Update....Mike's Session Footage

2009-05-08T05:52:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the second "Saturday Sweat" that we have held at STS in Weymouth. Tomorrow's sweat will feature two sessions. Early session for mature folks who go to bed early, later session for the rest of us who like to spend Friday Nights carrying on. If you weren't with us last week, I invite you to come down, get a quick workout and kick your weekend off on the right foot. Details below.

When: Tomorrow, Saturday May 9, 2009. First session is 9:00am-10:00am. Second Session will be 11:00am-12:00pm.

Where: 65 Mathewson Drive Unit B, Weymouth, Ma 02189

What: Group training session that will feature different stations suitable for men and women of all ages and fitness levels.

Cost: $15 per person.

I hope you can make it to one of the sessions. Gimme a shout if you plan on coming down. tssullivanjr@gmail.com.

Below you will see some footage of Mike Aylward's Group Workouts. For the month of May, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00pm, Mike is holding FREE one hour group sessions to get a taste of what his Summer Program will look like.

FREE Session at STS Weymouth tonight at 7pm!

2009-05-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Friends,

Tonight is another FREE training session at 7:00pm in Weymouth. Mike Aylward will be taking you through a workout that he developed. With that being said, I would like to address an issue that keeps coming up as I speak to people about Mike's sessions.

I have done a miserable job at communicating the value of having Mike available to run these sessions and what is actually being offered. A lot of people are nervous that these sessions will be too difficult and are intimidated to show up. Mike and I have taken the time to make different "levels" out of each workout. So for example, say there are pull ups as part of a workout. I train people everyday that can't do pull ups, but can do a handful of band assisted pulls or jumping pull ups. There is a substitute for everything, and we can easily take the most difficult workouts and make them applicable to everyone.

Bottom Line: Don't be nervous, there will be people of all ages, shapes, and sizes taking part in Mike's workouts. We look forward to seeing you tonight.

Gym Location:

Sullivan Training Systems
65 Mathewson Drive Unit B
Weymouth, Ma 02189

My Cell: 781 831 3901

Cardio and Ab Training

2009-05-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

I have been getting a lot of questions lately from various clients and online clients about cardio and ab training. Before I get into these topics, I think it is important to get down to the root cause of these questions. Why do most people inquire about cardio and abs? I would be willing to bet you a month's salary it isn't because they are interested in strengthening their cardiovascular systems or even strengthening their abs and torso for improved performance or lower back health. I would guess that 100% of these questions relate to a person being dissatisfied with the way they look around the midsection. With this assumption in mind, I have to go back and harp on the number one problem associated with the way someone's midsection looks, their diet.

When asked what the best exercise for ab development, world famous strength coach Mike Boyle usually replies with "table pushaways". Having good abs is 100 percent about getting your diet dialed in. If you are not willing to get things figured out in the kitchen, you will never have respectable abs. Someone once said, "you can't out-train a shitty diet," and I have to agree with that.

On the rare occasion that you are completely dialed in on diet and have been so for 4-6 weeks (don't lie), here are some "cardio" considerations.

Cardio:

If you are training strictly for looks and not performance I think you can do cardio in addition to your weight training up to 4 times per week. 2 times should be sprint/interval style work and 2 times can be lower intensity 25 minute sessions on the bike or on the pavement.

Abs:

Get rid of situps, crunches, and anything that looks similar to these. Your ab training should be almost exclusively plank variations, anti-rotation drills, and anti-extension drills. I will put together a brief video for you later today detailing some of the movements I use.

Have a great day,

Tom
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

FREE Open Gym with LCpl Mike Aylward Tonight 7pm

2009-05-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

To everyone following the blog, I wanted to let you know that STS's newest instructor, Mike Aylward, is holding an open gym tonight at the facility (65 Mathewson Drive, Weymouth, Ma, Unit B). Tonight's session will be one hour of free group training that will be a taste of the program he has developed for the summer. Should be a lot of fun so come on by. All are welcome.

Details:

When: 7pm tonight (May 5)

Where: STS, 65 Mathewson Drive, Unit B, Weymouth, Ma 02189

Bring training appropriate clothing, some H2O and a positive attitude.

First Saturday Sweat Fest Footage

2009-05-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was the first "Saturday Morning Sweat Fest" at STS Weymouth. We got off to a little bit of a late start but overall it was a huge success. We had guys really pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion and I think at the end of the day everyone had a great time and felt much better about themselves. I think this could be a huge new offering for the gym as I have spoken to a lot of guys and girls who are interested in getting involved. If you are reading the blog, I strongly encourage you to join us on a Saturday morning. Here is what went down.

Open Gym Tomorrow Morning! All Are Welcome.

2009-05-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

I know its short notice but the feedback has been strong to quite strong about the Saturday Morning Sweat Fest at STS Weymouth. We have a group of people already signed up for the morning session but I wanted to open the invitation to any man, woman, child, or gremlin that wants to come by and get a workout in tomorrow. Here are the details:

Who: Everyone is welcome. Men and Women.

What: Group Workout. Very Laid back atmosphere. $15 per person

Where: 65 Mathewson Drive Unit B, Weymouth, Ma 02189

When: 11:00am Saturday May 2, 2009 (tomorrow)

Why: Because you are a little soft around the midsection and looking to get the weekend off on the right foot.

If you wouldn't mind shooting me an email at tssullivanjr@gmail.com if you plan on coming, I would appreciate it. If not, just show up at 10:55 ready to get after it. I look forward to seeing you all in the morning.

Happy Friday,

TSull

Huge Tilt Tonight.

2009-04-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Big night tonight. The Stanley Cup finals for the New England Senior Hockey League are upon us. Whats that? What the hell is the New England Senior Hockey League, you say? Well its only the most competitive sporting league in the Northeast, so shame on you. Exercise RX is set to take the ice tonight at 10:30pm at the Canton Sportsplex in front of a capacity crowd. I would tell you who we are playing, but I am not sure and frankly it doesn't matter. In honor of the Exercise RX guys I thought I would put together a couple of workouts modeled after two of our players.

Joe Santilli Bike Sprint workout

The only thing 'Tilli seems to be interested is bike sprint workouts, so here you go buddy.

15 second sprint, 20 second recovery x 5

30 second sprint, 40 second recovery x 5

20 second sprint, 10 second recovery x 8

Directions: Depending on the type of stationary bike you are on, you will want to use a nice, easy level for your recovery, and bump it to a more aggressive level for the sprint. The longer the sprint the easier the level, on the short sprints get aggressive on a high level. These are harder than they sound.

Ned Havern's Beach Body Pump

Former BC stud, Ned Havern, likes to get into the weight room and just keep carving that rock. He isn't very interested in how high he can jump or what he can bench, he is all show. Here you go Neddy.

Dumbell Incline Bench x 5 reps heavy

Dumbell Row x 5 reps heavy

Stationary reverse lunge x 5ea leg (hold dumbells)

Russian Twists x 5ea

Oblique bridge x 5ea

Try to rip through this for 8 rounds with minimal rest (YouTube exercises). Quality is better than quantity, meaning if you are crushed after 6 circuits, shut her down.

Tuesday April 28, 2009...Today's Workout

2009-04-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Today it is going to be 90 degrees outside. If you have the mental fortitude to get your ass in the gym today, you aren't going to want to be there long. You probably want to spend some time walking around the city, having a cocktail out on the patio at your favorite watering hole, or just relaxing out on the balcony of your apartment.

So here you go....

Dumbell Curl and Press Combo x 5 reps
Bodyweight Squat x 5 reps
T-Pushups x 2ea side (pushup and reach for ceiling at top of rep, rotating your body)
30 second treadmill sprint.

rest for 1:00. repeat 8-12 times depending on time available and fitness level.

PS. Bring a set of dumbells over to the treadmill and make that your own little area. If you want to work out outdoors, get rid of the curl and press and perform the rest of the exercises at a local field with your shirt off. This workout is effective for both men and women.

Go get it,

TSull

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Putting the feelers out there.

2009-04-27T11:43:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get a temperature check on everyone who reads the blog. In the interest of full disclosure, I need to generate more revenue at the gym. Plain and simple. S0 in order for me to generate more revenue, I need to help more people get lean and mean. Currently my main source of income is training high school athletes and a select group of clients who train like athletes and look like athletes but are everyday folks like you and me. Here are some ideas that I am toying with:

1. Saturday morning "sweat the booze out of your system" workouts (just a working title)

With the gorgeous weather finally upon us, and all of the open space at the new gym, I feel like we should all get together as friends first thing on Saturday morning and get a serious sweat on to battle the effects of anything you did Friday night and plan on doing for the rest of the weekend. For anyone that is dedicated enough to get themselves to the gym on Saturday mornings after a night out, you can vouch for how much better you feel after. So I figure let's get 20 of us at the gym, really get after it for one hour, then meet at a beach, throw the pig skin around, and cook some dead animals. I am thinking that these workouts will be $15 per session. Thoughts?

2. Mike Aylward's Combat Conditioning.

This one is not an idea. This one actually has an official Start date of June 1st. Mike has already put together all of the workouts for this. This will be a 3 time per week "bootcamp" style workout program. It will be intense, you will shed pounds, and Mike will motivate you to levels of fitness you never thought possible. The cost for this will be $179 per month. If you sign up by May 10th, you will lock in a price of $129 per month for the summer.

3. Sullivan Training Systems' Summer Fat Loss Guide.

This is something that I am working on and is really time consuming, but if there is enough interest, I will be prepared to offer this for June 1st-August 31st. This will be a manual that will take all of the guess work out of planning your workouts and dealing with your nutrition strategy. If you can't make it down to train with us, at least you can follow our strategy at your local Planet Fitness. Also, for those who follow my writing you know that I am a realist. You will find me drinking beer on weekends and eating cheeseburgers at cookouts. You will also notice that I am not bashful about playing hoop on the "skins" team. I will let you in on the secrets of having fun and having a lean physique. For 3 months of workouts and diet information for the summer, the cost will be $199.

I am genuinely looking for ideas, suggestions, and also telling me to pound sand if you feel that way. Please don't be bashful in the comment section. Email me or message me on Facebook (friend me if we aren't already). Thank you!

Best,

Tom

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Mike

aylward.michael@gmail.com

Warm Weather Training Tips.

2009-04-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

As I stare out the window of the gym right now, the sun is shining brightly and we just came off a weekend in the 80s. Feels great, doesn't it? I always love this time of year because it means you can start adding some serious outdoor activity into your lives, work on your tans, and just feel much better in general. There is a downside to all of this nice weather in my opinion as a fitness guy. As soon as you have temps creeping skyward into the 80s, every Tom, Dick, and Jane dust of their running shoes and begin pounding out miles after spending the previous few months hibernating. When you take a body that is not conditioned properly to the stresses of running and jump right into the "fire" you are creating a recipe for injury. No, you aren't going to blow your knee out jogging (or is it yogging with a soft J), but I promise if you start upping miles early on you will start getting achy in your achilles, knees and your hips. So if you must run, add miles slowly.

If you hate running, try this one on for size.

Playground workout

Park bench jumps (jump up, step down) x 3

Pullups x 3-5 reps

Sprint 40 yards and back

Do 10 sets, resting when you need to. If any 9 year olds get in your way, leave cleat marks up their chest.

Fat Loss Plateau Buster

2009-04-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick idea that I came up with today. If you haven't realized this already, weight gain/loss is strictly a game of calories in versus calories out. Meaning take more in than you burn, hello weight gain. Burn more than you take in, hello Murph Abs. So if you are currently in a sticking point where you aren't making progress on your fat loss goals, we either need you to take in less calories, burn more, or a combo of both. This post is about burning more calories. When you get out of bed do this for 5 straight days to get some extra calorie burn:

10 Jumping Jacks
5 pushups
6 steps of lunge walks

repeat 5 rounds, get in shower, head to work having already stoked up your body to burn calories. This will help you break through your current plateau.

Updates and a couple workouts...

2009-04-21T06:09:00.001-07:00

I realize I have been MIA on the blogging front as of late and I apologize. Opening the facility in Weymouth brought on a bunch of issues/details I hadn't originally planned for. Now the facility has been opened for 3 weeks, we are busier than ever, and are doing things that just weren't possible in the old Braintree facility.

I want to take a quick opportunity to tell you about a program we are launching for Summer 09 that will begin Monday, June 8th. The program is called Combat Conditioning and it will be run by Lance Corporal Michael Aylward. Mike is a member of the United States Marine Corps fresh off of a tour of duty in Iraq. While on deployment, Mike created a group training program that was used on his fellow Marines and borrows from concepts from their bootcamp. I had the opportunity to review the program with Mike yesterday and it looks awesome. If you are looking for a fast paced, competitive training atmosphere, definitely get in touch with me or Mike ASAP.

We are also getting geared up for our High School/Collegiate Summer Strength Program that will begin on June 8th and run through the end of the summer. We have added staff, space, and equipment this summer and so far the response has been overwhelming. If you are a high school or college athlete looking to make serious gains to take to the playing field, you need to train with us this summer.

Lastly, the STS website is currently under development and nearing completion so I am looking forward to that. I will keep you posted so I can get your feedback.

It wouldn't be a blog post from me if I didn't give you some content that you can act on right away to push you towards your fitness and body composition goals...

This week:

Tuesday Workout

Jump rope (jumping jack if you don't have a rope) x 50 reps
Treadmill Sprint x 25 seconds
Burpee x 10 reps

rest for 1:30. This is one round. Complete 4-8 rounds depending on your fitness levels. Then lay on the ground and curse at me.

Wednesday Workout

Dumbell Circuit (Standing)
Hammer Curls x 4 reps
Overhead Push Press x 4 reps
Front Squat x 4 reps
Bent over rows x 4 reps

Pick a light dumbell weight for the first round through. Take your dumbells and do your 4 curls, without resting proceed into your overhead presses, then with the dumbells resting on your shoulders go right into your squats, and finally right into your rows. Without dropping the dumbells, repeat one more round. Rack your dumbells and rest for 2 minutes. Repeat x 3-7 rounds depending on fitness level. Adjust your dumbell weight if necessary. Guys, you probably went too heavy. Gals, you are probably too light. Pick weights that challenge but allow for perfect technique.

Get after it,

TSull

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Where the Figawi? Part 2

2009-04-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

We have roughly 7 weeks until shove off time for Figawi. How is everyone doing with their goals? Hopefully you have been getting to the gym 4-5 times a weeks, eating to support your goals, and getting plenty of rest to fuel your workouts after busy days at the office. Here are 10 random tips to help push you towards your goal of looking great on the beach of Fog Island.

1. No more skipping workouts. No more excuses, no more lying to yourself. If you want to look good or even great in your swim trunks, you have to man or wo-man up and get your ass in the gym.

2. It is time to ratchet up the intensity. Workouts need to get harder, diets need to get more strict during the week while maintaining some freedom over the weekend.

3. Three workouts per week need to be fast, circuit style workouts. Need some help with workouts? Check out this previous posts that I wrote. http://tsullsworld.blogspot.com/2009/01/men-of-exercise-rx.html

4. It is time to strip all of the sugar and starch out of your diets during the week. Get rid of bread, pasta, rice, and potato. During the weekend you can add it back in. The fastest, most effective fat loss diets are low in carbs.

5. Lift heavier weights. Start increasing weight lifted during your workouts. Same for the girls. I promise you won't get big, you will just tighten up.

6. Conditioning and cardio sessions need to be harder. If you like to run or bike, get rid of the steady state, moderate paced "cardio". Start doing sprint and recover workouts. Some good breakdowns are sprint for 30 seconds, recover for 1 minute, repeat x 10-12 reps. If you are a real self-masochist try doing Tabatas during your next run. Sprint for 20 seconds rest for 10 seconds repeating this 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. Your legs may fall off. If they haven't, rest for a couple of minutes, then repeat the protocol.

7. Start guzzling more water to help keep appetite at bay and to keep your body functioning properly.

8. Get a training partner(s) with similar goals to yours.

9. NEPA. Non-exercise Physical Activity. Move around more. Walk to work, walk to the bar, walk up stairs. Any type of movement is good for fat loss. How many fat mailmen do you know?

10. If you need a concrete, aggressive plan to hit your goals I will build a "Figawi Plan" for you for $99

Video Tour of Weymouth Facility

2009-04-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here we go...

I didn't forget about you...

2009-04-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

Friends,

I just wanted to drop a quick note. I haven't forgotten about the blog or gotten lazy with putting up new content. Yesterday was the grand opening of the new facility in Weymouth. I am putting together some pictures and a new entry for everyone to see.

I hope everyone is still on track with all of your goals. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Best,

TSull

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

5 of My Favorite Exercises.

2009-03-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of my favorite exercises that I use for myself, my athletes, and my regular clients. I will be adding to this list during the week.

1. Bulgarian Split Squat (even though I don't know where Bulgaria is or if it even exists): I like these because they require some serious effort in terms of strength and balance, are easy to load, and some trainees who exhibit knee pain in traditional squatting can usually perform these.

2. Sumo Deadlifts: I find that these are tougher to mess up than the traditional deadlift set up. My athletes are able to keep almost a perfectly upright torso/neutral spine when performing these making them a safer exercise. I rarely see rounded backs during the sumo style. Perform these barefoot or with low profile sneakers on.

3. Pullups: These may be my favorite of all time. When people start to get strong at pullups they begin to get some serious back and arm development. Someone once said pullups were the equivalent to upper body squats and I have to agree. All variations are great in my book (pullups, chinups, parallel grip, mixed grip). Once you can do 10 perfect pullups, start adding weight. Get yourself away from lat pulldown machines.

4. Pushups: too many people rush over to the bench press station when it would be far safer and more productive to opt for pushups. Pushups are a total body exercise that engage your hands, arms, shoulders, and torso. If you can't do 20 perfect, you have no business on the bench.

5. 3 point Planks: maybe I should have started with a regular forearm plank, but I just like this progression better. When you can do a 30 second plank with ease, you need to start making the move more difficult as opposed to adding more time. By removing one of the four ground contact points you add a degree of instability that must be countered by engaging your entire torso.

Enjoy.

Training Partners.

2009-03-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

When it comes to training, there are few things that lead to a more productive session than having like-minded people to train with. When you can get in the gym with a group of people versus training solo, you will definitely fast track your results. Working with a group will guarantee that you don't skip reps, sets, or miss a session altogether because there is built in accountability.

So if you are currently training 4 times per week, try to grab one or two people to train with once or twice per week minimum. Chances are that there is a guy or gal that works out at your gym that is on the same schedule as you and would love to have a training partner.

Another bonus to having a training partner is the innate sense of competition that is brought out of you. For me personally I usually am able to get 1-2 sessions in per week with a couple of other guys. These sessions are 3x more productive than my solo sessions. This week in particular is college spring break week so I have had the pleasure of training with Steve Byrne, Kevin Plant, My brother Jeff, cousin Brian, Brett, Hog, Matt Bren. When you can get 6-8 guys together to train, people will push themselves beyond where they thought their strength and mental toughness barriers were.

So this week, take a workout from the blog, grab a coworker, friend, sibling, or homeless guy off the street (you may have to pay his guest fee, and be a good shit and grab him a post workout drink) and hit the gym. I promise you will love the team atmosphere.

(If you don't think "rack 'em Willie wants to train with you, you are dead wrong. video not safe for work due to language.)

Go get it,

TSull

How was the weekend?

2009-03-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patrick's Day from your friends in Alabama.

This past weekend is typically a monster party weekend in Boston. We were graced with two beautiful, sunny days and chances are you spent the majority of your weekend belly up to the bar or drinking green beers. Hopefully you had a blast, because that's what its all about anyway. Well now its Monday morning and time to get back in the saddle. Put the brakes on your eating and drinking from the weekend and get back on track towards your goals of being lean and mean for Figawi.

Mondays are great for getting in a serious metabolic workout. For me, I use the weekend behavior as motivation for a mean-ass session on Monday. Give this simple circuit a rip today. Simple does not mean easy.

5 Bodyweight Squats
4 T-Pushups (2 each way)
3 Pullups (assisted machine if need be)
2 Burpees

rest for 30 seconds after each round. Try to complete 10 rounds. If you are smoked at 8 rounds or even 6 rounds, shut it down there.

Let's get after it,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Transparency: A look in the mirror

2009-03-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

In writing this blog, which has gained a surprising number of visitors, I try to remain completely transparent. What I mean by transparent is simple. Take a look at any of the other fitness guys and gals' blogs and you will see a huge difference from the tone and content of my information.

I believe I know my audience well enough that I can write about relevant topics. For example, I know there is no chance most of you are willing to give up alcohol (neither am I), so I give you advice in order to optimize your health and fitness while allowing for some booze consumption. I also know that there is no chance that everyone is going to eat perfect, so I advise you to eat like a saint during the week, and then allow yourself to get a little more aggressive on the weekend. Same with training. None of you have the time or want to spend the time in the gym that other fitness professionals advise. If I can give you something that will be 30 minutes and done, I think the chances of you actually following it increase tenfold. Well anyways, here is a peak into what I have been up to:

Training:

Looking at the notebook I keep as a training log, there is a pattern over the past 5 weeks...

3 times per week I lift heavy weights. exercises include squat variations, deadlift variations, tons of pullups, rows, and presses.

2 times per week I do a conditioning circuit like the 15 minute circuits I have written about in the past.

At least once per week I play hockey for RX and I usually go pretty hard

Nutrition:

Monday through Friday afternoon, I eat the same exact thing.

1. 4 eggs, wheat toast, tons of water

2. Protein Shake

3. Post workout protein shake

4. Dinner of chicken, fish, or steak with veggies (NO STARCH)

Come Friday night, I usually have a bunch of drinks and an appetizer or two, and then maintain mediocre nutrition for the remainder of the weekend, with the occasional Chinese food feed with my family Sunday nights. Come Monday, right back on the wagon.

Is this a GREAT diet? Absolutely not. Has it been working? You bet. I have gotten bigger, stronger, leaner, and faster.

Take some of the pieces that will work for you and put them to work today.

Where the Figawi?

2009-03-04T17:50:00.000-08:00

Today is Thursday, March 5th, 2009. In order to help everyone with a little motivation with all of this snow and cold hanging around the northeast, I issue you a challenge.

A large number of people I associate with and that follow this blog will be descending on the island of Nantucket like a pack of crazed maniacs for Figawi Weekend (May 21st-May24th). Here is an excerpt from the official website:

"The 38th Annual Figawi Race Weekend is recognized as a top sailing event not only on the east coast but is known nationally as well as internationally. Figawi Race Weekend kicks off the the Cape Cod and Nantucket summer season. Entries include sailors from several states 240+ boats (including 30 power boats) and over 3,000 sailors and visitors, as well as locals, attend this event.For more information please reference the links at the left.More information about Figawi 2009 will be posted here when available in Winter 2009."

If you are wondering how much time you have before this glorious weekend of life on earth, you have exactly 11 weeks. Why am I telling you all of this? What if you aren't even going or located in the Northeast?

The first answer is easy. We are going to take this date for our deadline. I always talk about picking measurable goals, with specific timelines, so here it is. Even if you aren't going to Figawi, use this date with us. The goal is simple. For this weekend, you need to be the leanest specimen you can posibly be. And get aggressive with your goal. As an example, my new revised goal for 11 weeks from now is to be 195 pounds, with single digit bodyfat by the time I get on the ferry. For you, this may be too aggressive. If you are overweight your goal is to lose 25 pounds of bodyfat in 11 weeks. That means you have to lose 2+ pounds every week until Figawi. So pick a goal that is applicable to your situation. Girls, if you already weigh 120 pounds and are pretty lean, 25 pounds of fat loss is stupid. Try to maintain your weight and get "harder". This means changing the way you workout. You need to lift weights. Same for you 145 pound guys. Beef it up for the next 11 weeks. If you don't know how ask. Why would you want to make your life difficult for the next 77 days?

Here is how a typical Nantucket weekend is going to go. We are all going to meet up for the evening SLOW ferry over to Nantucket. This allows for extra time to build excitement and anticipation (and they serve drinks on the ferry). Next, we get off and head to a local watering hole. After "shenanies" all night, we wake up on Friday morning and head to the beach. We have everything we need, beach chairs, grills, horseshoe stakes, bean bag toss, coolers and great company. With any luck it will be great weather. Now is the moment of truth. Guys, you peel off those shirts to get a bronze on and people will definitely notice you. They will either talk about your sloppy physique complete with muffin top, or they will say Holy Shit! Jake really has been crushing the gym. Girls, you will shimmy out of your beach dresses and people will think "Jesus, she really should be in a one piece" or "wow, serious hard body". The choice is yours and ONLY yours.

Over the next few blog updates I will be giving you new workouts to try, diet strategies to employ, and other tidbits to aid you in your journey.

So what do you say?

Spring Strength Session

2009-03-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to spread the word about the Spring Strength Session over at STS. Below are some details. If you know any athletes in the Massachusetts area, help me get the word out.

When: March 9, 2009 – May 29, 2009 (12 weeks)

Time Slots: 3:00pm, 4:00pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, 7:00pm

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Training Schedule
Where: March: 86 Hancock Street, Braintree, Ma

April-May: Brand new state of the art facility located at:
65 Mathewson Drive, Weymouth, Ma. New Facility located 5 miles from current facility

What: 90 minute Strength and Conditioning Sessions, performed in groups of up to 8 athletes

Who: Sessions will be led by Tom Sullivan, Owner/Operator of STS. He can be reached at tssullivanjr@gmail.com and 781.831.3901

Cost: 3 payments of $219 due on 1st session of each month

A Few Friday Thoughts

2009-02-27T05:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everybody.

Today's post will revisit our New Year's resolutions. If you have been following along with me here, you know that I am not a believer in traditional New Years Ressy's but am a huge proponent of specific, measurable, achievable goals.

It is now the end of February and we are 15 percent through 2009. Pretty scary. Let's look at the following common goals and see where you are.

1. You wanted to lose 20 pounds by bathing suit season. In order to be on track for your goal you need to be down 3-4 pounds. Are you?

Instead of ripping through a bunch of different goals, let's look at this one. Maybe you aren't down 3 pounds, but instead you are up 3 pounds. Maybe you are down 4 pounds, if so congratulations, keep it going.

If you are not on track right now, take a look at where you went wrong and start doing things to fix it. Set a new goal and a new timeline and get aggressive. If you need my help, just ask.

Have a great weekend,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

PS. I started the year at 215 pounds. As of this morning I am at 204 pounds. If I was 216 pounds I would expect you all to stop reading this blog.

Breaking News: Sullivan Training Systems is Moving!

2009-02-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

(Top pic is the new space. Bottom Pic is the current space in Braintree.)

I wanted to take an opportunity this morning to update everyone on the "State of STS". As of last week I signed a lease on a new location for the facility. The new facility will be located 5 miles up the road from the current spot at 65 Mathewson Drive, Weymouth, Ma, Suite B. The new spot will give us an opportunity to expand the business due to its size and design. The new space's training area is roughly 4 times the size of the Braintree location allowing for more athletes, staff, new equipment, and the ability to offer different training programs. Needless to say I am very excited about the move which will take place April 1st.

Also I would like to recognize the work of my Real Estate Broker, Colin Greenhalgh. I have known Colin for years but had never dealt with him on a professional level. The process started with me calling Colin one day telling him of my plans to try and secure a new location before Summer '09. From that initial phone call the process and transaction were completely painless for me. Colin handled all of the behind the scenes work, showed me a bunch of different properties and helped me negotiate the best possible deal for my business. If you or anyone you know has any real estate needs, call Colin. He will be handling all of my future needs. He can be reached at cgreenhalgh@gvaboston.com.

The online coaching program I launched a couple months back has been a huge success so far. For $147 I will build you a 12 week training program. This takes all of the guesswork out of training and allows you to hit all of your goals in the process. Let me know if you are interested.

Have a great day,

TSull

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Response to "Motivation".

2009-02-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

Below is an email I received from my good friend, Lance Corporal Mike Aylward, who is stationed over in Iraq right now. If you do not like to read curse words, don't read this.

Hey Sull, as always I loved the blog man. I wanted to leave a comment but I had no idea how so I said whateva and now I am writing an email. My mother was actually asking me like 2 days ago how I was able to motivate myself and train everyday. First I told her that even though we are currently doing nothing and the chances of me getting in any kind of trouble before we leave is miniscule there is always the thought in the back of my mind that my physical fitness relates directly to whether or not I will live or die in certain situations. This doesn't apply to any of your clients but I did tell her a few other things to think about that might. One of those things was that everyday I am confronted with stress, and a shit load of it. Most people with a good job are. One way to alleviate that stress is to work out and work fucking hard. I told her that as long as my body was in pain and sweating so bad that it looked like I pissed myself I was thinking about nothing other than that pain and getting that next damn rep and everything else that has gone on that day disappears for that 30 minutes of straight intensity. This could help your clients out in two different ways, motivate them to get into the gym first of all and then second, get them working on a level that you expect. We both know that if you aren't putting in 100% you aren't going to get desired results. The other thing that I brought up was something from a class that we were given before we deployed and that was on a combat mindset. When I thought about the class I realized that it could be applied to anything, life in general even if you are willing to look at it as combat.In a combat situation there are certain things the body will do automatically, one is the fight or flight instinct. The others are all reactions to stress being imposed. I am not going to get into the whole class but one thing that applies was the question posed to us...how are you going to get the job done without being properly prepared mentally and physically. I know this sounds like moto bullshit but hear me out. One of those stresses is fear. Not matter what the job military or civilian there is always going to be fear involved (especially for civilians now with the economy). One major cause of stress is the fear, and no one likes to say it but it is actually the biggest cause of fear, is that of letting your buddies down (getting someone killed because you can't perform your job correctly). While no one will get killed if someone is too tired to make the important call or email, other peoples hard work has the potential to get fucked up. Where am I going with this? Do you really want to let down a guy who put his faith in you to do a job because you were too tired to fucking get it right? How does that look on your character? "Oh sorry sir, I actually didn't make that call, I was really tired yesterday and went home and figured I would give the client a call in the morning." Thats bullshit, training your body will at the same time train your mind to fucking do the job, overcome stress, overcome fear. Because fuck it, why would you put that weight down and take a breather when you only have to bang out two more reps? Are you going to put your injured buddy down when your fireman carrying him out of a kill zone? Fuck no. The same applies, why would you put off a call and go home when you can make that fucking call right now before you left? It may not seem applicable when you are driving home and can't wait to get on the couch crack a beer and forget the stupid shit that happened during the day but, Training Your Body Trains Your Mind. Maybe thats something a client can tape on their dashboard or put in their little leather work folder thing. I can't believe I just spit that shit out, and I am sorry if it was long winded and moto but I really enjoyed the topic of the blog and I just get fuckin antsy when people talk about motivation and dedication and shit, plus I get sick to my stomach when shitbag marines are like maaan I just can't do it today I'll go in the morning. I love you man. Keep improving lives
Ayls

Motivation.

2009-02-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v85eCqEJYBM

We have all been there. You have had a shitty day, you're tired, you hate your boss, your clients, your roommate, whoever. Someone cut you off on the way home from work, you slept like hell last night, you fought with your girlfriend/boyfriend, or that deal that was supposed to pay this month's rent fell through and is not going to close. Some of these factors are outside of your control and others are within your control. The only thing that is 100% within your powers is your reaction to these different things. You can let these things ruin the rest of your evening by going home, putting your sweatpants on, watching a movie in a dark room while feasting on take out, or you can dust yourself off and still get your workout in and keep your life on track. Scientifically, if you do get that workout in you will feel 1000 times better than not working out. Your body releases all sorts of endorphins when you exert yourself and you will forget about your troubles for a little while. So in order to help you get to the gym when you don't feel like it, here are some motivation techniques I have used to get amped up:

1. Revisit your goals. If I don't want to work out, often times taking a look at my goals will add a little gasoline to my inner fire. If you have been following me for a while, open up your powerpoint resolutions and read through them. Will today be a day to move towards your goals or away from them? Your choice.

2. Look at a picture of you at your fattest. I have a couple of pictures that I will pull up on my computer when I was at my heaviest. Never fails for creating a little motivation or self hatred to fuel your workout.

3. Music. Find a go to song that always gets you going, one that you can't help but want to workout and sweat to when you hear it. As cheesy as it sounds when you hear the Rocky 4 training montage song, how the hell are you not going to want to do something.

4. YouTube. On that last topic, find a clip that gets you going. Here are a few of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDko7Utfqdg Rocky 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdd31Q9PqA No Excuses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o0pv6k37yE "Haka" (probably think I am strange after seeing this one.)

If you hate these ones, find a couple you like.

Bottom Line here: Even if you don't want too, you have to get yourself to the gym.

Hope this helps,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

10 Worst Things to Put in Your Gas Tank.

2009-02-12T05:24:00.000-08:00

1. Pasta for dinner. I would say that 90 percent of you reading this are looking to slash body fat. Having a pile of pasta before you go to bed is terrible.

2. Potato products. Contrary to popular belief even baked potatoes are a poor choice when trying to cut bodyfat.

3. Pizza Skins. These are just an example but almost every single appetizer you could possibly order is shit (although most are delicious). The only decent appys are shrimp cocktail, raw oysters, salads, and a small cup of chili.

4. Soda. An occasional diet soda is fine. Regular soda is absolute crap, and I am starting to think even diet soda is not great. Even though it has no calories, it is filled with all kinds of chemicals and may spike your blood sugar the same way high octane soda does.

5. Subs. If you were to order a turkey sub, with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and mayo, you are about to put damn near 1000 calories in your body (without the chips and soda). I don't ever want to hear anyone say, "I eat healthy, I had a turkey sub for lunch today."

6. Juice. One glass of juice with breakfast is at best, OK. Juice is loaded with sugar and will give you a rush and a crash. That sensation is from your blood sugar being spiked, followed by an insulin spike which makes you feel like hell.

7. Alcohol. No one wants to hear this one, but it had to be said. Isn't going to stop me from enjoying some pops, just know it is not a good thing to flood your system with.

8. Desserts. No brainer here.

9. 100 Calorie Packs. One quote that I heard that I really like is "Shit is still shit." You might say, "But its only 100 calories..." "Shit is still shit."

10. Cereal. All cereal is prepackaged crap. You should be trying to stay away from processed foods, cereal is no better. Yes granola sucks, Special K sucks, Raisin Bran sucks.

Top 10 Things to put in your body.

2009-02-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

1. Water. Try to drink a gallon of this every single day. You will pee a lot but you will feel great.

2. Eggs. These little bastards are low in calories and full of muscle building protein. Eat the whole thing, not just the white.

3. Nuts. Almonds and walnuts in particular. No you can't have the ones covered in salt and other crap.

4. Lean cuts of meat. If you can get grass fed beef at Whole Foods, even better.

5. Seafood. Almost every type is great for you and low in calories. Salmon is the rock star of the group.

6. Metabolic Drive (https://www.t-nation.com/free_online_store). This is the protein supplement I use. Tastes great and works excellent in post workout shakes as well as a quick low cal meal in a pinch.

7. Spinach. My favorite part of this stuff is you can toss it into a pan with your eggs and it will sweat down to nothing. You can put two cups in and it will look like nothing when its cooked.

8. Frozen Mixed Berries. Add to smoothies, oatmeal, etc. Frozen is cheaper and more convenient.

9. Chicken Breast. Easiest use? Toss it in a pan with a little oil and a pile of veggies for a quick easy meal.

10. Bell Peppers in every color. Bell Peppers are loaded with all kinds of essential vitamins and are super low in calories. Another reason why they make the list is because of versatility. You can put them in omelets, stir frys and salads.

10a. Green Tea. Studies show that you can't drink enough of this stuff.

Friday February 6th. Having Fun, Staying Lean.

2009-02-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

I have been dragging ass a bit this week as far as blogging goes. Sorry about that. For what its worth I have been busy trying to get things squared away for the new location. I will post some photos and details of the big move as they become available.

Here we go.

Having fun, Staying Lean.

Impossible! You can't drink, have fun, eat shitty food and maintain a dynamite physique. Or can you?

Let's look at a common scenario for the average Bostonian bar hopper. Let's say you live in Southie as most young professionals do. A regular Saturday for you may look like this:

5pm: Head over to Susie's house with a bottle of wine/case of beer/bottle of goose.

5:18pm: Start playing catch phrase with 4-5 friends, have a few cocktails, talk about what a shitty week you had.

8pm: Mosey on down to the Beer Garden so you can grab a table and continue to have drinks for a few hours.

10:30pm-1:30am: hop around to three different bars downtown to top the night off.

Here is where most people get derailed:

1. While playing scategories over at Michelle's house before the bar they have a few cheez its, pretzels, and some tostitos before the bar.

2. Once they get to the bar they have "dinner" even though they just ate 600 calories worth of poo at Erin's house. Dinner isn't usually grilled fish and asparagus after having 3 drinks. It is more than likely a BBQ bacon cheeseburger with fries because Larry at the table next to you had one and it looked delicious.

3. During the course of the night you have sugary, calorie laden drinks (Beer, shots, booze mixed with juice, etc).

4. And if you end up in Faneuil Hall at 2am after a long night of cocktails, even the most dedicated dieter can't pass up a little street meat.

I may be way off here and this may be overkill for your Saturday night but, I don't think I am that far off for a lot of you give or take a sausage or a slice of pizza.

Here are a couple tips to help you battle the bulge.

1. Don't stop hanging out with friends and going to bars. No one will like you. Priority A is to have a blast as often as possible.

2. When you are at Jessica's Condo before the bar, don't snack. Eat a small meal before you get there so you aren't as tempted. Also, stay out of arms reach of the goodies, otherwise you will be elbow deep before you know it.

3. When you get to the Beer Garden, fill yourself up on some decent food. Instead of a burger, get a grilled chicken wrap with a cup of chili or soup instead of fries.

4. Drink Vodka and Sodas with 3 slices of lime. If you drink a decent vodka with soda (Not tonic water which is loaded with sugar) you will stay hydrated all night and feel way better the next morning. Trust me, lot of practice.

Is this easy? Depends. If your friends are on board, then yes. If not, it is a little harder. If maintaining a great bod were easy, Beantown would be filled with walking Greek Statues and Statuettes, and we know that isn't true.

Have a great weekend.

Get after it,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Super Bowl Weekend in Review

2009-02-03T05:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I headed north to Vermont and New York State to watch my brother play hockey for Babson. They played well at Castleton and won 7-2, then turned around and pissed one away the following day to Skidmore 4-1. My Dad and I spent Friday night at a Best Western in Rutland Vermont. We arrived at the hotel at about 5pm, which is two hours before game time at Castleton. The plan for the night was to go to the game, go out to dinner, and have a few beers back at the hotel. Knowing that I was going to be having a decent sized meal, and some wobbly sauce later in the evening, we decided to sneak a workout in down at the hotel. We headed down to the lobby area where the "fitness center" was located. The "fitness center" was a room with the square footage of a penalty box with a treadmill, stairmaster, and stationary bike. Each cardio piece was minimum 15 years old and borderline operational. I began to pace around to think about how to put together the training session when I noticed the reserve water jug refills for the water cooler. These things weigh maybe 35 pounds and were just the tool we needed. We squatted with them, rowed them and did some other bodyweight exercises in a 15 minute circuit. During the session we worked up a serious sweat, and ramped up the metabolism. Not to mention loosening up the old joints after the 3+ hour car ride. Even though these weren't optimal conditions, it is these little workouts that will help you stay on track with all of your physique goals.

Super Bowl Sunday

SBS is a holiday where I don't believe you should try to diet through. It is an occasion to eat and relax and be with friends and family. I knew I was going to be eating a pretty impressive spread, so I made sure to train in the morning when I woke up.

I thought the game was an excellent watch, enjoyed the boss at halftime (I thought Glory Days was his best song), and laughed out loud at some of the commercials. My favorite commercial moments were the guy being thrown out the window (Bud Light), and the career builder commercial with the woman screaming in her car, followed by the koala bear being punched in the face.

Progress Report

Where are you on your goals or New Years Resolutions? Have you made significant progress? If so, congratulations. If not, why not just set a new goal and get yourself back on track. No sense beating yourself up about failing on your resolution, just set a new goal, dust yourself off and get back after it. Personally I am down about 8 pounds, on my way back to 190 lbs of twisted steel by March 31st.

If I can help you at all drop me a line.

Best,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Today's Breakfast plus some Food for Thought.

2009-01-30T05:41:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my breakfast this morning. Here's how I made it.

1/2 cup whole wheat pancake mix

1.5 scoops vanilla protein powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 egg

Add milk and mix in to desired thickness

Below is a piece of an interview with Dave Tate. Dave is a world class powerlifter and entrepreneur.

"I've volunteered in my son's kindergarten class most of the year, and it's been a great time. I was there yesterday, walking down the hallway listening to the morning announcements. I heard something about a fire and donations for the family.

So I go to the classroom and I'm sitting there not even thinking about it. At the beginning of reading time, the teacher brings up one of the kids in the class. Well, it's the kid who just lost everything in the fire over the weekend. You could tell the kid wasn't in the highest of spirits.

The teacher's explaining to the class that the important thing was that nobody was hurt. She's doing exactly what she should do because the kids have questions, you know?

"Did you lose your clothes?" "Did you lose your toys?"

He starts talking about how one of his cats ran off because it was scared of the fire, and his two dogs are now in heaven. And it's just killing this kid to sit up there and talk about it.

All of a sudden these little kids start saying things like, "You can have some of my clothes" and "you can have my dog" and "you can stay at my house." Every single kid in this class is willing to give this kid their toys. He looks up and says that everything's fine and he has everything he needs right in front of him.

I had to get up and fucking walk out of the room.

All these kids know the most important things in life are friends and family. And I'm standing in the hallway and it just dawns on me. Where did we get so fucked up? Because we're really starting off okay. It was one of the most inspiring moments I've had in my entire life, seeing the strength and resolve of a five-year-old kid. "

Have a great weekend,

TSull

Tips for the Travelling Business Person.

2009-01-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Friends,

This post has been sparked by a project I am currently working on catered to the business professionals out there who are interested in pursuing and maintaining an impressive physique. This is an important demographic to speak to in my opinion for the following reasons:

1. Many are former athletes without much direction when it comes to training.
2. Many are type A personalities who need to constantly push the envelope in all areas of life.
3. Whether you like it or not, the people you are doing business with are passing judgment on you based on appearance. When everything else is equal, the lean guy or gal will get the deal over the fat guy or gal.

For you people who are sales professionals, brokers, etc, I know there are some serious obstacles in your way when it comes to carving that rock. You don't have the luxury of working out whenever you feel like it because often times your schedule is dictated by someone else. So let me give you a few common obstacles and how to maneuver around them and keep your belt buckle in one piece.

Obstacles

1. Business Dinner/Lunch/Breakfast with clients. Typically this one is on company coin so its tough not to absolutely gorge on this occasion.

2. Catered event on site. I know that on many occasions you are at a networking event or an on site meeting that is catered.

3. Events. Christmas Parties, Red Sox/Pats/B's/Celts games.

Solutions (these correspond with the number above)

1. Order a fresh seafood appy instead of bread at lunch and dinner. Read: Not fried calamari, think shrimp cocktail. Follow it up with the 9oz fillet Mignon with grilled veggies. At Breakfast eat an omelet with as much stuff in it as you can stomach with whole wheat toast. Stay away from pancakes, home fries, french toast, and gallons of sugary juice.

2. Catered event. This is a tough spot because usually it is some pizza, sandwiches, or some other food not on your training table. Stay away from pizza and grab two pieces of sandwich on whole wheat wraps with grilled chicken if possible.

3. Events. These events happen occasionally and also are usually important. Sometimes taking a client to a red sox game can be the difference between closing business or losing business. In this case, my advice would be to not really hold back here. Drink beer, have a hot dog, and show your client a good time. But guess what? Drag your ass out of bed before work the following day and get in some interval training before breakfast to limit the damage.

So there you have it friends. Lots of solid, small decisions equal big success.

Go get em,

TSull

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Tuesday's Workout of the Day

2009-01-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

There has been some confusion about some of the training methods that I have written about. Some of the girls following along think that the workouts are developed specifically for the manimals following me here. My intention was to develop training for both sexes and I still believe that I have done that, I just wasn't very clear about it. So today I will post a workout for everyone. Like a lot of the training I talk about, it won't take very long but you should be able to work up a pretty good lather. Here it is:

Perform a good warmup then:

T-Pushup 2x each side
Goblet Squat 4reps 30-50lb dumbell
Around the world plank 2x around the world

Complete 8-10 sets as quickly as you can.

T Pushup

Goblet Squat

Around the world Planks

Mighty Sub Friday

2009-01-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday Everyone. In case you can't really make out the above picture, let me tell you a little story.

Brendan and Justin, two juniors at Milton High who train with me, offered to pick me up some lunch after their exam on Thursday. I agreed. And the two of them walk in carrying my "lunch". Well my lunch consisted of one $8 sandwich from "Mighty Subs" in Needham. If you are having trouble getting a feel for the size of this sandwich, that would be my leg on the table. I put my heel at one end of the sub and the other end came halfway up my quad. This was hands down the biggest sandwich I had ever seen. I ate half of the thing, which took about an hour and then almost slipped into a coma. Brendan was able to eat his whole sandwich, which he explained to me was due to superior mental toughness.

This would be the opposite thing to take part in if you are trying to lose bodyfat. Here is some video for you guys. This is a circuit I put the athletes through yesterday. They went for 15 minutes continuous. Go ahead and have a great weekend.

Best,

TSull

Video Blog: Episode 1

2009-01-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to post a YouTube link for everyone to check out. I shot some video last night in the basement at my parents house. This was the perfect scenario for having about 20 minutes to train and still getting an effective workout in. I had just returned home from training some clients and was headed out to Dedham to train the Boston Patriots 11 year old team in about a half hour. The film quality isn't great, but I hope you can still get a feel for what I was after.

Workout Details:

50lb DB Swings
Ring Chinups
Knee UPs
Clap Pushups

15 minutes continuous

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVcnN7bWcrY

Go Get it,

TS
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Short on Time?

2009-01-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

It's another one of those days...maybe its Thursday and you are going out to a business dinner or its Friday and you are going to meet friends for some after work drinks. You sit there at your desk and have this mental battle, "I know I should really try to get a training session in today, but its 4:30pm on Friday and I don't want to go through the whole procedure of going to the gym, warming up, setting things up, training for 40-50 minutes, showering and then heading out." So you decide to forgo the workout and then beat yourself up either that night or the next day when you are saying, "Man, I really wish I got in the gym yesterday." Well here is your solution:

For starters, if you aren't already, keep a set of workout clothes in your car so you can never use that as an excuse. Next, get yourself into the gym for a quick workout that will have you in and out in 18 minutes or less. Here it is:

Bench Jumps x 3(with two feet spring up onto a bench, then step down)
Pullups x 3 (any grip you want, if you cant do real ones, do assisted ones on the machine)
Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat x 3 each leg

Set a stop watch or ipod or cell phone for 15 minutes and try to keep moving for 15 minutes. Work hard then play hard.

Best,

TS

PS. As always use YouTube for any video demonstrations you need.

Happy Fat Loss Friday. 5 Quick Tips

2009-01-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

1. During your workouts, rest period between sets may be the most crucial factor in training for fat loss. Effective rest periods do not include checking your BlackBerry, messing with your Ipod, or flexing in the mirror when you think no one is looking. A good rule of thumb: when you start your next set you want to breathing a little heavy still, typically 30-45 seconds is good. Wear a stopwatch, you will be shocked how quick that actually is.

2. Pick exercises that require you to move your whole body, they burn the most calories. As always I recommend squatting variations, deadlift variations, pull ups (not pull downs), rows, and presses.

3. When doing cardio, sprint. You shouldn't be able to chat or read a magazine while doing cardio. You should want to punch someone in the face if they try talking to you mid cardio session. Put headphones on to discourage chatty Cathy from approaching you. Sprint for 30 seconds, go slow for 60 seconds. Repeat 8 times, go home.

4. Typically with people our age, it is easy to stay on track during the week and then just have the wheels fall off the wagon come Saturday and Sunday. Most of it is due to alcohol. My theory is that booze doesn't make you fat, it is the things that happen when you drink that makes you fat. Think about it, do you eat salads with grilled chicken or fish when you drink? or nachos and wings? I eat nachos and wings. How can we fix this? Well if you aren't interested in sacrificing 10 cent wings and $10 pitchers, then beat the piss out of yourself in the gym on Sunday. You will crank the metabolism back up and set yourself up to get right back on track come Monday.

5. Put a stop to eating after 8pm. If you live with other people tell them about this habit you are trying to develop and seek their help. Tell them not to offer you anything or eat in front of you after 8pm.

Lastly, how are you doing on your goals? This week has been a solid week for me in my quest for 190 pounds and single digit bodyfat. I hope you are staying on track as well.

Let me know if I can help.

Best,

TSull

PS. I had an awesome marketing professor at Babson who used to finish class on Thursdays with the following: We would be packing up ready to head out thinking he forgot to give us an assignment for the weekend and he would say "Oh yeah kids, one more thing. Your assignment for this weekend.....I need you to go ahead and have the greatest weekend you ever did have." Always caught us off guard, and always felt great when he said it. I want you guys all to do the same.

3 Stupid Things in Men's Health

2009-01-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

As we speak I am sitting in the library up the street from the gym returning some emails and doing other busy work. I decided to pick up the latest Men’s Health. Generally speaking I really enjoy reading MH for most of their content. I really like the articles that feature recipes, how to make the perfect cocktail, what to wear on a first date, and most of their other articles that relate to me not being a bumbling fool when it comes to women. However, some of the advice articles and even some of the workout programs are really stupid. So I am going to take this opportunity to address some of the random things I see in Men’s Health that you should avoid. Am I saying you should get all of your training and nutrition advice just from TSull’s World? You bet your ass. (kidding there are other good sources out there).

1. Here is an actual question from a reader. “Every time I do shrugs, it kills my neck. Help!”

Now I won’t call out the trainer who answered the question because he is far more accomplished than I am. But his advice boils down to using lighter weights. Here is how I would answer that. “Stop doing shrugs. Why are you doing shrugs anyway? People bitch about not having time to get the gym and when they finally do, they pick shrugs? Build your program around big boy moves like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, rows, and sprints (you too girls). This question might as well be: “Every time I slam the car door on my hand it kills.”

2. Here’s another. “Why do I pace when on the phone?”

This question was fielded by a guy with about 15 acronyms following his name, so he must be smart. He actually does a great job describing the lack of visual stimulation leading to an expression through physical action. If it ended there, I would be perfectly OK with that. He finishes his answer with, “Don’t fight it. Studies show that fidgeting and pacing can lead to greater caloric burn than exercise.” I guess the next time I go to the gym, instead of picking box jumps, medicine ball slams, and pull-ups, I am going to warm up and fidget for 30 minutes. This may be the secret in getting super lean.

3. In the weight loss bulletin it reads, “People are likely to eat 85% more bread when it is offered by the server. Blame social pressure. It is harder to decline an offer when it comes directly from another person.”

So you go ahead and polish off another 4 rolls at dinner, but don’t worry, just blame your fat ass on the poor waitress. Blame yourself tubby, no one was holding you down force feeding you. When you go out to eat, decline the rolls in the first place and get a shrimp cocktail.

I really do like Men’s Health but I just want you to be a little more aware of what you are reading in health magazines. Next time I will tackle a Women’s magazine, these are usually way more stupid. And remember these people are in the business of selling magazines, not the health business.

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Happy Friday. Quick Breakfast Recipes.

2009-01-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday to everyone.

Quick Breakfast Recipes
I want to give everyone a couple of good recipes for breakfast for a couple of reasons.

1. Breakfast is absolutely crucial in building a respectable physique. It primes your metabolism for the day and will fuel your workout later that day as well.

2. I am sick of listening to people bitch that they don't have time to cook breakfast before work.

TSull's Sensational Smoothie (no giggling)
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mixed berries
8 oz cold water
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup almonds

Directions:
Throw it in a blender and smash it up until it is the consistency you desire (really tough to F this one up). I can literally get this one done in 2 minutes. All kinds of great stuff going on in there and it tastes delicious.

Oatmeal Concoction
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (not the instant crap)
1 cup water
Microwave
1 scoop vanilla protein
1 cup frozen berries

Directions:
Throw the oats in a bowl and cover with water. Toss it in the microwave for 2 minutes or until it looks like its all cooked through. Mix it up, then toss the protein in. Mix that until the protein disappears, then add the berries and stir those in. The berries will defrost and cool the oatmeal so it doesn't burn the roof of your mouth like a slice of Domino's pie at 3am sophomore year of college.

Have a great weekend everybody,

TSull
tssullivanjr@gmail.com

The Men of Exercise RX.

2009-01-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

I would like to dedicate this post to the men of Exercise RX. For those of you who may not be aware, this is the New England Senior League Hockey team that I currently signed a long term deal with for the winter. Right now I believe we are 9-4 in league play. Last night we had a huge 10-5 win over the Griffs that turned out to be a real confidence builder. We are so hot right now that as long as we "just show up and lace up the skates" we are almost guaranteed victory (Tilli).

In thinking of a way to tie this back into health and fitness, it really wasn't too hard. If you take a look around the locker room, as a squad, we really are not a "beacon" of physical health. This is a team full of ex-Hockey east, NESCAC, and ECAC hockey guys who have gotten pretty out of shape since the glory days (sorry boys). If I had to guess, I would say that this specific population is so used to structure in their training programs in the way of practice and team lifts, that when released into the wild they walk around the gym aimlessly without a plan. Because of my man love for everyone on the team, I am going to put together a small program that should get you on the right track.

When thinking about a program for this population, there are some important things to consider:

1. Most guys have some left over nagging injuries from years of abuse.

2. Most guys have good jobs where they spend the better part of the day sitting down at a desk.

3. Most guys could use some tweaking in their diet.

4. Most guys are interested or should be interested in some fat loss.

So here is what I am thinking:

Monday: I know you guys had a monster night Saturday where you had 12-15 beers at the local watering hole (chances are, so did I), so we need to get some work done here.

Go to the gym, get a good warmup in, and perform the following.

1. Stationary reverse lunge with 25 lb DBs in hand (3 reps each leg)

2. Pullups any grip you like (use the assisted machine if need be) (perform 3 reps)

3. seated russian twists with medicine ball or light plate (5 reps each side)

taking as little rest as possible complete 8 sets.

Tuesday: We usually have a game on Tuesday Nights, so as long as you don't eat like an idiot, this will be enough of a workout.

Wednesday: Go to the gym and perform the following.

1. Pushups (5 reps)

2. Dumbell Row (5 reps each arm)

3. Side planks (30 seconds each side)

taking as little rest as possible perform 8 sets.

Thursday: Get back in the gym.

1. Standing DB overhead press (5 reps)

2. Pullups (different grip than Monday) (5 reps)

3. Step Ups on a bench (bodyweight only, 5 reps each side)

taking as little rest as possible, perform 8 reps

Friday, Saturday, or Sunday

Jump on a bike or a treadmill and do some intervals. 30 seconds of work followed by 60 seconds at a recovery pace for 10 reps.

So boys, there you have it. These workouts will take 30 minutes to perform (maybe less) and will be a hell of a lot harder than what you usually do at the gym.

Anyone else who may be following along, these workouts will work for you too. If you want a more individual approach I would be happy to help. My online coaching offering is $49 dollars per month (mandatory 3 month commitment) for personalized diet and training plans.

Let's Get After it,

TSull

PS. You can youtube most of these exercises for a video demonstration.

Lead from the front...

2009-01-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Any leader worth anything knows that you have to lead from the front. You can't hide behind words and inaction. This entry will be about how I plan to set an example for my clients. I really hate it when I hear someone giving advice or sharing some insight on a subject that they have no business advising on. Some examples:

1. Fat Personal Trainers. Trainers who have their clients performing things that they couldn't do if their life depended on it. For this reason alone, I make sure I can perform the tasks I am asking of my clients and athletes at a high level.

2. Business Consultants who have never been in business for themselves. Why would I listen to a guy tell me how to run my business when he gets a guaranteed paycheck from a corporation every two weeks? I want advice form a guy who once was eating Ramen Noodles, sleeping in a shitty apartment, driving a 93 Corolla, and now is eating at Abe and Louie's, owning a condo downtown, and driving a beautiful sled because he built his business to support his lifestyle.

3. John Clayton. This guy is an NFL analyst (see picture above) whose opinion comes highly regarded from sports fans everywhere. I mean this guy is an authority on a sport played by the world's greatest athletes? Look at him.

Where am I going with all of this?

Well this holiday season I would guess that I probably put on 8 or 10 pounds of body fat by eating and drinking pretty much exactly what I wanted, when I wanted. Did I have fun? You bet I did. But now it is time for me to dial it back in and get really lean again. Here is how I plan on doing it, and how you should plan as well.

1. I will be eliminating starchy carbs altogether except at breakfast.

2. I will drink a gallon of water everday.

3. I will lift heavy weights 4 times per week to preserve the mucle mass I have built.

4. I will add 3 sessions of high intensity cardio during the week.

5. I will make sure my carbs come in the form of a variety of fruit and veggies.

6. I will make sure I consume a lean protein at every meal.

7. I will eat 6 meals per day.

8. I will take a break from my diet every Sunday.

I realize that not eveyone has the luxury of owning a gym and spending most of your time there, but I do believe you could implement a lot of the changes I am making and see some serious progress.

By March 31st, I plan on being 190 lbs of twisted steel. Where do you plan on being?

Let me help you get there.

Lets Get After It,

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

781 831 3901

New Years Resolutions

2008-12-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

During this time of year, it has become increasingly popular to come up with extravagant "resolutions" to accomplish during the upcoming New Year. Resolutions have probably been around as long as humans have used the current calendar system. Who can resist the urge? It makes perfect sense, with a brand new year coming up many people look at it as a fresh start or a brand new opportunity to attain a goal they have in their mind. So what do I think about New Years Resolutions?

I think waiting until New Years to declare a goal that has any personal value to you is retarded. If its worth doing at all, why not just set out on your goal now? Let's look at some common resolutions.

1. Lose weight

2. Read more books

3. Sell more products

4. Make more money

5. Exercise more

6. Eat better

Can we all agree that these are the most common ones we hear? I would be willing to bet you a month's pay that Harry McGuillicutty who tells you he plans to lose 20 pounds this year will have a different resolution for 2010; to lose 30 pounds. Same goes for the other ones. Why not put them on a dart board and throw a few darts and go with whichever one they land on?

Don't misunderstand me, however. I am HUGE into goal setting and achieving. I just think to wait until New Years is a mentally weak thing to do. It is just following the masses, who are usually wrong anyway. It is taking the easy way out.

If you must set a resolution, below is a way to do it MUCH more effectively.

Actions

1. Open up Microsft Powerpoint immediately.

2. Save this new slide deck as "JohnSmith2009Goals.ppt"

3. Create three slides. At the top of one slide, write "2009 Career Goals". Slides 2 and 3 become "2009 personal goals". I think you will need two slides for personal goals, because in my mind "personal" canvases a whole variety of things.

4. On slide one, set 3 career goals. If you write "make more money", go ahead and throw yourself out a window. If that is your goal, write "make 125,000 in 2009" and then go ahead and write underneath that exactly how you plan to do so. BE SPECIFIC or don't bother.

5. For your personal slides, write whatever goals you want to accomplish outside of work. BE SPECIFIC. A few of my personal goals are "Drive a brand new, black, Dodge Ram pickup truck by March 1st". Another is to Visit Mexico before next summer to surf for 7 days, sleep in a tent, and go fishing with locals. They need to be specific and measurable and bonus points if you attach a date because it will give you a sense of urgency.

6. Let's tackle a health and fitness goal. "Lose Weight" may as well be "F*ck Off". Lose Weight doesn't mean anything, you could just cut your hair, wear lighter clothing and have a bowel movement. Guess what, you have just lost weight. A better goal is to "Be at 10 percent body fat, with visible abs, by April 1st, 2009". From here you can now make a plan to go about getting to 10 percent bodyfat.

7. Print this slide deck out and hang it on the fridge, keep one in your gym bag, email it to a close friend, put one in the office, and anywhere else you are bound to be slapped in the face by it everyday. Email it to me if you want and I will check with you periodically to see if you are on track.

Summary

1. Don't wait. Start Now.

2. Be as specific as you possibly can.

3. Put it in public places to help you be accountable. Give a copy to a friend to help you and ask for theirs.

4. If "10 percent body fat with visible abs is in your future, let me put your plan together for you, and train you a couple of times per week. I can guarantee I will help you reach your goals.

5. Aim high, miss high. If you say earn 150k this year, and only earn 138k but last year made 70k, chalk that up in the win column.

Happy New Year.

tssullivanjr@gmail.com

781 831 3901

Merry Christmas.

2008-12-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everybody, I hope you are spending the next few days relaxing with family and friends. I know I will. Couple things:

1. I am having a big group workout tomorrow at 10am at the gym. If you are interested, get in touch with me. PS. It is free.

2. As far as the holidays go, do not try to diet through the holidays. Eat and drink whatever you want, try to get a few training sessions in, and then dial it up come January 2nd. I heard a line the other day that goes, "Don't eat well from Christmas to New Years, eat well from New Years to Christmas."

3. I will update the blog in the next couple of days with my thoughts on New Years resolutions.

Have a great day,

TS

5 Things to Change Today: For the girls...

2008-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

After a couple of requests this weekend, I have decided to write a post for the women who follow the blog. I will lay out a couple of things that women do poorly (not all women, but most), and then some solutions.

1. Not eating enough protein. Almost all of the women I have worked with are way to low in their consumption of protein.

2. Too much steady state cardio. Steady state cardio is the type where you hop on an elliptical, or stair stepper and go at the same pace for 15 minutes or longer.

3. Not doing any weight lifting and being afraid that weights will make you big and bulky.

4. Eating way too few calories.

5. Having the wrong goals.

Solutions:

1. Pretty easy fix. Start eating more protein. A few easy ways to do this would be to eat eggs in the morning, and then make sure to have some lean protein at every meal. Chicken, fish, meat, turkey, etc are all good choices. If you still are too low, think about a protein shake once or twice per day. This will not make you fat or big.

2. If you must do all of the cardio you currently do, you have to change it to intervals. Try an interval where you exert some serious effort for 30 seconds, then you slow the pace to a recovery pace for 1 minute. Repeat for 6-8 times and you have just performed a much more beneficial cardio session.

3. Weight lifting will not make you big. People don't put on muscle by accident. Think about how stupid that sounds, woops I got too big. Plus most of you wouldn't work hard enough to put on serious muscle. Weight lifting will however burn a ton of calories and make you look much harder. If you don't know how have someone show you the basics like squats, pullups, pushups, presses, etc.

4. If you are currently training hard, you probably aren't eating enough calories. A perfect recipe for looking like you have an eating disorder would be to do a ton of muscle wasting, steady state cardio, and then eat nothing but salad. You want to preserve your lean muscle, this is the stuff that makes you look attractive in the first place.

5. If you are skinny to begin with, you shouldn't be trying to lose weight. You should try to build some lean muscle, you will look way better. If you are trying to add some lean muscle, you should make sure your training program is correctly structured to help you reach your goals.

If you need help, drop me a line at tssullivanjr@gmail.com

Do your workouts look like this?

2008-12-17T11:19:00.001-08:00

Its 5:30 pm after a long day at the office and you drag yourself over to the gym to get a "workout" in. You walk in the gym, do a few side bends, static hamstring stretches, and you are ready to go. If you are a guy, you head over to the bench do 2-3 warmup sets and then 1 or 2 more difficult sets with the same weight you have used since high school. Maybe you head over to the seated shoulder press machine and bang out three sets. Then you walk over to the bike and pedal at level 2 for 20 minutes (which is usually 15 minutes, you just tell everyone 20 minutes). If you are a girl, you head straight for the elliptical with US Weekly and go for 20 minutes on a machine that makes you look foolish. Guess what folks. Your workouts suck.

Solutions:

1. First off, don't call it "working out". What the hell does that even mean? Call it training. This changes your mindset completely and makes it feel like you are working out with a purpose.

2. So what is your purpose in going in to the gym three times per week? Come up with a specific goal and a specific timeline for reaching it. Otherwise you are wasting your time.

3. Do things no one else does. Look around the office, not one person there could do 10 strict pullups. You hardly ever see anyone doing them. So make it your goal to work up to 10 pullups, you will be thanked with a muscular back and shoulders. Also learn how to squat properly, deadlift, press, dip, and do real pushups. No one does them or does them correctly except for the people who have great physiques. That should tell you something.

4. Have a plan and keep a log.

5. If you need help with a program, ask me. tssullivanjr@gmail.com